Porous carbon nitride nanotubes efficiently promote two-electron O2 reduction for photocatalytic H2O2 production

Supramolecular self-assembly was used to synthesize uniform porous carbon nitride nanotubes success-fully. The large specific surface area and superior electron transport performance are provided by nanotube structures. The temperature programmed desorption (TPD) test and the density functional theory (DFT) calculation indicate that porous carbon nitride nanotubes show a significant adsorption of O2. At the same time, the rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) experiments demonstrate that the porous carbon nitride nanotubes improved the selectivity of 2e- oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) (60% vs. 90%, 0.3 V vs. RHE) greatly. Consequently, the yield of H2O2 by porous carbon nitride nanotubes (93.89 mu mol/L) is 2.4 times more than that of the original carbon nitride. Therefore, this research provides a feasible strategy for de-signing photocatalytic materials with high 2e- ORR selectivity.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Uniform porous carbon nitride nanotubes were successfully synthesized through supramolecular self-assembly, providing large specific surface area and superior electron transport performance. The nanotubes exhibited significant adsorption of O2 according to temperature programmed desorption (TPD) test and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) experiments showed that the porous carbon nitride nanotubes greatly improved the selectivity of 2e- oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), resulting in a higher yield of H2O2. This research offers a feasible strategy for designing photocatalytic materials with high 2e- ORR selectivity.