Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by carbon-doped carbon nitride synthesized via the assistance of cellulose

Photocatalytic splitting of water is a promising way to realize the conversion of solar energy to hydrogen. In this work, carbon-doped graphitic carbon nitride (CGCN) materials with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production performance under visible-light irradiation was obtained. The activity is about 17 times higher than the bulk g-CN. The enhanced hydrogen evolution performance of CGCN is due to the replacement of N with C in g-CN, which leads to a higher charge separation efficiency and better light absorption capability. This study proves that regulating the ratio of carbon to nitrogen in g-CN could optimize its electronic and optical properties, further improving the photocatalytic activity.