Recent development in electronic structure tuning of graphitic carbon nitride for highly efficient photocatalysis

The utilization of solar energy to drive energy conversion and simultaneously realize pollutant degradation via photocatalysis is one of most promising strategies to resolve the global energy and environment issues. During the past decade, graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has attracted dramatically growing attention for solar energy conversion due to its excellent physicochemical properties as a photocatalyst. However, its practical application is still impeded by several limitations and shortcomings, such as high recombination rate of charge carriers, low visible-light absorption, etc. As an effective solution, the electronic structure tuning of g-C3N4 has been widely adopted. In this context, firstly, the paper critically focuses on the different strategies of electronic structure tuning of g-C3N4 like vacancy modification, doping, crystallinity modulation and synthesis of a new molecular structure. And the recent progress is reviewed. Finally, the challenges and future trends are summarized.

Automated summary

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has gained significant attention in the field of solar energy conversion, but faces limitations such as high recombination rate of charge carriers and low visible-light absorption. To address these issues, electronic structure tuning of g-C3N4 has been widely adopted, with strategies including vacancy modification, doping, crystallinity modulation, and synthesis of new molecular structures. Challenges and future trends in this area are also discussed.