Nitrogen defect engineering and π-conjugation structure decorated g-C3N4 with highly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and mechanism insight

The precise molecular tunability strategy is deemed to have great potential to improve the photocatalytic performance of metal-free photocatalysts for applying in hydrogen evolution but remains a formidable task. We herein cover a logical design for integrating N defect engineering and pi-conjugation structure into g-C3N4. The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of up to 1541.6 mu mol g(-1) h(-1) is acquired over the optimum DCN350, which has 7.5-fold increase over primal g-C3N4 (205.9 mu mol g(-1) h(-1)). The experimental study and density functional theory (DFT) investigations confirm that DCN350 with N defects not only can shorten band gaps for expanding the light absorption range via optimizing the electronic band structure, but also act as active sites for facilitating hydrogen evolution reaction. Besides, the -C=N as strong electron-withdrawing functional group can make the isolated valence electrons delocalized to drive the charge spatial separation. Therefore, the light absorption capacity and charge separation/transfer of g-C3N4 can be flexibly mastered via changing calcination temperature of g-C3N4 and NaBH4. Overall, this study provides an opportunity for having a deep understanding the role of structural defects on ameliorating the photocatalytic evolution hydrogen activity.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates the potential of utilizing a precise molecular tunability strategy to enhance the photocatalytic performance of metal-free photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. By integrating N defect engineering and pi-conjugation structure into g-C3N4, the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate was significantly increased, providing insights on the role of structural defects in improving photocatalytic activity.