增大石墨相氮化碳层间距提升光催化制氢性能

石墨相氮化碳是一类非金属聚合物,其光催化特性,特别是在光催化水分解反应中的应用引起了广泛关注.目前,块体石墨相氮化碳的光催化性能主要受比表面积较大、光子利用率较低等因素的制约.前期大量研究主要采用异质元素掺杂、负载助催化剂、设计缺陷、构建异质结构等策略来进一步提升光催化性能.石墨相氮化碳具有二维层状的晶体结构,理论上其形貌和显微结构会对光催化性能有显著影响.因此,本文从调节材料本征结构这一角度,报道了一种调控石墨相氮化碳层间距的方法.将三聚氰胺和氯化铵混合后,通过微波快速加热,利用氯化铵分解过程中释放氨气这一特性,破坏石墨相氮化碳层间的范德华力,增大其层间距并成功获得了薄片状结构.同时,微波加热可以实现快速升温,有效避免了电炉加热煅烧时间较长导致前驱体挥发的问题.采用扫描电子显微镜、氮气等温吸脱附曲线、X射线衍射、红外光谱、紫外-可见吸收光谱、荧光光谱、光催化制氢和电化学测试等表征手段,研究了不同氯化铵含量对石墨相氮化碳层间距的作用以及调控层间距对光催化活性的影响.通过扫描电子显微镜观察,与三聚氰胺加热所得到的块状结构相比,适量的氯化铵(氯化铵质量比为11％)和三聚氰胺在微波快速加热处理后可以获得薄片状结构.氮气等温吸脱附曲线进一步证实了显微结构的变化,薄片状结构和块体结构相比BET比表面积提升了2.1倍.X射线衍射分析证实随着氯化铵含量的增加,(002)衍射峰位置左移,意味着层间距逐渐增大.红外光谱则没有明显的变化,说明氯化铵和三聚氰胺共烧并不会改变石墨相氮化碳的化学结构.光催化制氢测试发现,添加适量的氯化铵和三聚氰胺共烧可以明显提升光催化制氢性能.与块体材料(4.67μmol h?1)相比,层间距增大后光催化活性提升了约5倍(23.6μmol h?1).结合紫外-可见吸收光谱和电化学莫特肖特基测试,我们发现层间距增大后可以显著提升石墨相氮化碳的可见光吸收性质,减小带宽,并获得更为合适的能级结构.且样品的导电性能得到改善,有利于电荷传输,光生电子空穴对的分离效率进一步提升.以上结果说明调控石墨相氮化碳的层间距是一种简单有效提升催化剂光催化性能的手段.

Engineering graphitic carbon nitride with expanded interlayer distance for boosting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Regulating interlayer distance is a crucial factor in the development of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials.A 2D metal-free photocatalyst, such as graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), exhibits morphology-and microstructure-dependent photocatalytic activity. Herein, we report a straightforward and facile route for the preparation of unique lamellar g-C3N4, by co-firing melamine and ammonium chloride via microwave-assisted heating. Through the decomposition of NH4Cl, the evaporation of NH3 gas can effectively overcome van der Waals forces, expanding the interlayer distance of g-C3N4, thereby creating a lamellar structure consisting of nanosheets. Compared with bulk g-C3N4,the NH3-derived lamellar g-C3N4 exhibits a larger specific surface area and enhanced optical absorption capability, which increase photocatalytic hydrogen production because of the highly active structure, excellent utilization efficiency of photon energy, and low recombination efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers. This study provides a simple strategy for the regulation of the g-C3N4 microstructure toward highly efficient photocatalytic applications.