Direct Growth of Carbon Nitride (C3N3) Nanosheets on Copper Foam as an Efficient Catalytic Electrode for Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution

In this work, carbon nitride (C3N3) nanosheets are directly synthesized on copper foam via a solvent-free vapor-solid phase reaction. Electrochemical measurement results indicate that C3N3 nanosheets achieve outstanding electrocatalytic performances with low overpotential (142 mV@10 mA cm(-2)) and small Tafel slope (75.5 mV dec(-1)), which are superior to most metal-free hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts in acid medium reported so far. In addition, the electrocatalytic performances of C3N3 nanosheets are further slightly improved under simulated solar irradiation. What's more, the synthetic strategy of C3N3 nanosheets could be extended to other substance system. More importantly, our impressive work was expected to inspire more potential researches in the future.

Automated summary

This work successfully synthesized carbon nitride (C3N3) nanosheets on copper foam via a solvent-free vapor-solid phase reaction. The C3N3 nanosheets exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic performances, surpassing most metal-free hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts in acid medium. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic performances of C3N3 nanosheets were slightly enhanced under simulated solar irradiation. This research paves the way for potential future studies.