Carbon Nitride Nano Photocatalysts For Solar-to-Fuel Conversion

The solar-driven photocatalytic splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen is a potential source of clean and renewable fuels. However, after four decades of global research, systems that are sufficiently stable and efficient for practical use have not yet been realized. The past few years have witnessed a surge of interest in the development of a myriad of carbon nitride based photocatalysts. These fascinating earth-abundant visible-light-responsive conjugated polymers have appealing electronic band structure and high physicochemical stability. Nevertheless, the factors that determine their activity remain unclear, and the vast potential of these materials has yet to fulfill itself.

Here we will present a set of novel well-controlled g-C₃N₄ based hybrid designs. In particular we will discribe the synthesis and characterization of hollow g-C₃N₄ nanospheres that are coupled with plasmonic Au nanostructures, and the relation between structure and performance in these materials.