Acid-assisted synthesis of nitrogen-deficient mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride for hydrogen storage

Defect engineering is an important strategy to tune the surface physical and chemical properties of carbon nitride materials. Herein, a nitrogen-deficient mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (ND-MCN) with a high specific surface area of 62.6 m2 g-1 was synthesized via hydrochloric acid-assisted thermal polycondensation of melamine and its potential application in hydrogen storage was investigated. Hydrochloric acid acting as activation agent can increase the specific surface area of carbon nitride, and introduce nitrogen-vacancy defects into the framework, leading to a stronger interaction between ND-MCN and hydrogen molecules. As a result, the NDMCN shows a high hydrogen storage density of 6.39 x 10-3 wt%Greek ano teleiag m- 2 at 298 K under 20 bar.

Automated summary

Defect engineering is crucial in tuning the surface properties of carbon nitride materials, with the nitrogen-deficient mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride showing a high specific surface area and hydrogen storage density due to nitrogen-vacancy defects introduced by hydrochloric acid.