Polymer Semiconductors for Artificial Photosynthesis: Hydrogen Evolution by Mesoporous Graphitic Carbon Nitride with Visible Light

We investigated semiconductor characteristics for polymeric carbon nitride as a metal-free photocatalyst working with visible light and have shown that the efficiency of hydrogen production by photochemical water reduction can be improved by similar to 1 order of magnitude by introducing the right type of mesoporosity into polymeric C3N4. We anticipate a wide rang of potential application of C3N4 as energy transducers for artificial photosynthesis in general, especially with a 3D continuous nanoarchitecture. Moreover, the results of finding photoactivity for carbon nitride nanoparticles can enrich the discussion on prebiotic chemistry of the Earth, as HCN polymer clusters are unequivocal in the solar system.