A Targeted Review of Current Progress, Challenges and Future Perspective of g-C3N4 based Hybrid Photocatalyst Toward Multidimensional Applications

The increasing demand for searching highly efficient and robust technologies in the context of sustainable energy production totally rely onto the cost-effective energy efficient production technologies. Solar power technology in this regard will perceived to be extensively employed in a variety of ways in the future ahead, in terms of the combustion of petroleum-based pollutants, CO2 reduction, heterogeneous photocatalysis, as well as the formation of unlimited and sustainable hydrogen gas production. Semiconductor-based photocatalysis is regarded as potentially sustainable solution in this context. g-C3N4 is classified as non-metallic semiconductor to overcome this energy demand and enviromental challenges, because of its superior electronic configuration, which has a median band energy of around 2.7 eV, strong photocatalytic stability, and higher light performance. The photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 is perceived to be inadequate, owing to its small surface area along with high rate of charge recombination. However, various synthetic strategies were applied in order to incorporate g-C3N4 with different guest materials to increase photocatalytic performance. After these fabrication approaches, the photocatalytic activity was enhanced owing to generation of photoinduced electrons and holes, by improving light absorption ability, and boosting surface area, which provides more space for photocatalytic reaction. In this review, various metals, non-metals, metals oxide, sulfides, and ferrites have been integrated with g-C3N4 to form mono, bimetallic, heterojunction, Z-scheme, and S-scheme-based materials for boosting performance. Also, different varieties of g-C3N4 were utilized for different aspects of photocatalytic application i. e., water reduction, water oxidation, CO2 reduction, and photodegradation of dye pollutants, etc. As a consequence, we have assembled a summary of the latest g-C3N4 based materials, their uses in solar energy adaption, and proper management of the environment. This research will further well explain the detail of the mechanism of all these photocatalytic processes for the next steps, as well as the age number of new insights in order to overcome the current challenges.

Automated summary

The increasing demand for sustainable energy production has led to the extensive use of solar power technology, particularly in the combustion of pollutants, CO2 reduction, photocatalysis, and hydrogen gas production. Semiconductor-based photocatalysis, such as g-C3N4, has emerged as a promising solution due to its superior electronic configuration and high performance. However, g-C3N4's photocatalytic activity is hindered by its small surface area and charge recombination. Various synthetic strategies have been employed to enhance photocatalytic performance by incorporating g-C3N4 with different materials. This review provides an overview of the latest g-C3N4-based materials and their applications in solar energy and environmental management.