Chemical exfoliation of graphitic carbon nitride for efficient heterogeneous photocatalysis

TLDR

Single-atom-layer nanosheet materials possess enhanced intrinsic properties, offering broad application potential across multiple fields. The study investigates the structure and photocatalytic performance of the synthesized single-layer g‑C₃N₄ nanosheets. The nanosheets were produced via a straightforward chemical exfoliation of bulk g‑C₃N₄. The exfoliated nanosheets, 0.4 nm thick with micrometer lateral dimensions, exhibit markedly improved charge carrier separation, leading to significantly higher H₂ evolution, pollutant degradation, and photocurrent compared to bulk g‑C₃N₄.

Abstract

Single atomic layer nanosheet materials show great application potential in many fields due to their enhanced intrinsic properties compared to their counterparts and newly born properties. Herein, g-C3N4 nanosheets with a single atomic layer structure are prepared by a simple chemical exfoliation method. The as-prepared nanosheets show a single atomic thickness of 0.4 nm and a lateral size of micrometers. The structure and photocatalytic properties of the as-prepared single layer g-C3N4 are then studied. Compared with the bulk g-C3N4, single layer g-C3N4 nanosheets show great superiority in photogenerated charge carrier transfer and separation. Accordingly, the photocatalytic H2 production and pollutant decomposition activities and photocurrent generation of single layer g-C3N4 nanosheets are much higher than those of the bulk g-C3N4, indicating the great application potential of single layer g-C3N4 nanosheets in photocatalysis and photosynthesis.