Graphitic carbon nitride nanoribbon for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic H2 production

Abstract

Chemical scissors provide a new vision to manufacture unique carbon nitride nanostructures with improved photocatalytic performance. Herein, graphitic carbon nitride nanoribbon (GCNR), with a typical length of 1.75 μm, width of 210 nm and thickness of 3 nm, was obtained by acid treatment of bulk g-C₃N₄ with HNO₃/H₂SO₄ mixtures. The C/N molar ratio of GCNR (around 0.629) was much smaller than that of pristine g-C₃N₄ (0.758). It was demonstrated that larger amounts of carbon vacancies on the ultra-thin ribbon structures could contribute to improved electron–hole separation efficiency and excellent photocatalytic H₂ production. The average H₂ production rate of GCNR under visible light was 49.4 μmol h⁻¹, which was 20 times that of the original catalyst.