Synthesis of crumpled nanosheets of polymeric carbon nitride from melamine cyanurate

Polymeric carbon nitride was synthesized by pyrolysis in nitrogen flux at different temperatures between 450 and 700 degrees C using melamine cyanurate as a reagent and sulfuric acid as a catalyst. The obtained carbon nitride consisted of curled nanosheets (650 degrees C), and globular particles (700 degrees C) with formula C6N7NHNH2. The reaction yield of the catalyzed reaction was around the 15% for the sample treated at 700 degrees C, in a tapped crucible. The optical band gap of the polymer obtained at 700 degrees C is around 2.9 eV. The gap to the Fermi level is around 2 eV, considerably above the half of the band gap (due to electrons trapped in the gap), indicating that the polymer is probably a n-type semiconductor. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.