Carbon Nitride Nanostructures for Sustainable Energy Production and Environmental Remediation (ISSN)

Beneficial properties of graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) have been discovered in recent years during the promotion of its visible‐light‐driven photocatalytic activity for water splitting. Applications of gCN have flourished in such fields as renewable energy production and environmental remediation, while gCNs have been explored to serve as electrocatalysts, electronic and photoelectronic devices, non-volatile memory devices, anodes in lithium‐ion batteries, and platinum supports in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. This book covers recent advances in the rational design and characterization of gCN nanostructures for energy and environmental remediation, and discusses achievements in fabrication approaches of gCN nanostructures using various chemical and physical approaches. It highlights recent advances in the theoretical and experimental development of novel multidimensional nanoarchitectonics of gCNs along with insight into catalytic energy production, energy storage, and environmental remediation. Practical applications and utilization of gCN based devices are also discussed. With contributions from leading global researchers, this title will appeal to graduate students and researchers in nanoscience, chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science who are interested in developing new gCN materials or devices. Front Cover Carbon Nitride Nanostructures for Sustainable Energy Production and Environmental Remediation Carbon Nitride Nanostructures for Sustainable Energy Production and Environmental Remediation Copyright Biographies Dedication Preface Contents Chapter 1 - Recent Advances in the Controlled Design of One-­dimensional Carbon Nitrides for Thermal CO Oxidation Reaction 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Template-­based Preparation of 1D gCNs 1.2.1 Hard Templating 1.2.2 Soft Templating 1.3 Preparation of 1D gCN Nanotubes 1.4 Preparation of 1D gCN Rods 1.5 Template-­free Preparation of 1D gCNs for CO Oxidation 1.6 Conclusion References Chapter 2 - Graphitic Carbon Nitride-­based Chemiluminescent and Electrochemiluminescent Sensors 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Fabrication of g-­C3N4 2.2.1 Synthesis of Bulk g-­C3N4 2.2.2 Preparation Pathways of g-­C3N4 Nanostructures 2.2.2.1 Top-down Route 2.2.2.2 Bottom-up Route 2.3 Characterization of g-­C3N4 2.3.1 UV-­visible and Fluorescence Analysis 2.3.2 Scanning Electron Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy Analysis 2.3.3 Fourier-­transform Infrared Spectroscopy Analysis 2.3.4 X-­ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Analysis 2.4 Chemiluminescence of g-­C3N4 and its Sensing Application 2.5 Applications of g-­C3N4 as ECL Sensors 2.5.1 Detection of Metal Ions and Inorganic Anions 2.5.2 Biomolecule Detection 2.5.3 Nucleic Acid Bioanalysis 2.5.4 Cancer Biomarker Detection 2.5.5 Analysis of Proteins 2.5.6 Cell-­related Bioanalysis 2.5.7 Detection of Enzyme Activity 2.5.8 Detection of Pharmaceutical Active Ingredients 2.5.9 Detection of Pesticides 2.5.10 Other Experiments 2.6 Summary and Future Outlook Acknowledgements References Chapter 3 - Template-­based Fabrication of Porous Carbon Nitride Nanostructures for Electrochemical Energy Conversion 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Template-­based Synthesis of Porous gCNs 3.2.1 Hard Template Method 3.2.2 Soft Template Method 3.3 Characterization of Porous gCNs 3.3.1 Morphology and Size Characterization 3.3.2 Element and Composition Analysis 3.3.3 Crystal Structure Characterization 3.3.4 Optical Properties 3.4 Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion Application 3.4.1 Fuel Cells 3.4.1.1 Small Molecule Anodic Oxidation Reaction 3.4.1.2 Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) 3.4.2 Water Splitting 3.4.2.1 Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) 3.4.2.2 Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) 3.4.3 Supercapacitors 3.4.4 Li-­ion Batteries 3.5 Conclusion Acknowledgements References Chapter 4 - Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanostructures as Potent Catalysts for Water Splitting: Theoretical Insights 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Density Functional Theory 4.3 Water Splitting 4.4 Hydrogen Evolution Reaction 4.4.1 Mechanism of HER Under Acidic and Basic Conditions on Model Materials 4.4.2 The Importance of the Tafel Slope in Establishing the Underlying HER Mechanism 4.5 Oxygen Evolution Reaction 4.6 Self-­standing gCN Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 4.7 Transition Metal-­free gCN Based Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 4.8 Noble Metals/gCN Based Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 4.9 Metal-­based/Carbon Nitride Photocatalysts 4.10 Doped Carbon Nitride Materials 4.11 Conclusion and Future Perspectives References Chapter 5 - Graphitic Carbon Nitride-­polymer Hybrids: A Win–Win Combination with Advanced Properties for Different Applications 5.1 Introduction 5.2 g-­C3N4 as a Polymerization Initiator for Polymer Synthesis 5.3 Carbon Nitride-­based Hydrogels 5.4 Functionalization-­based Routes of g-­C3N4/Polymer Hybrid Materials and their Properties 5.4.1 Dispersibility Enhancement of g-­C3N4 5.4.2 g-­C3N4/Polymer Hybrid Materials for Biosensors 5.4.3 g-­C3N4/Polymer Hybrid Film Materials 5.4.4 g-­C3N4/Polymer Nanoparticle Composites 5.4.5 Improved Polymer Properties via Combination with g-­C3N4 5.4.6 Blending and Supramolecular Hydrogels 5.5 Applications of g-C3N4/Polymers for Photocatalytic Applications and Water Treatments 5.5.1 Photocatalysis for H2 Evolution and CO2 Reduction via g-­C3N4/Polymer Hybrids 5.5.2 Water Contamination Degradation by g-­C3N4/Polymer Hybrid Photocatalysis 5.5.3 g-­C3N4/Polymer Hybrids as Photocatalysts for Sterilization 5.5.4 Electrochemical Energy Storage and Solar Cells via g-­C3N4/Polymer Nanocomposites 5.5.5 Photoactive Hydrogels Based on g-­C3N4 5.6 Conclusion and Outlook References Chapter 6 - Atomic and Molecular Functionalization of Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Solar Cell Applications 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Synthesis Methods of g-­C3N4 Film 6.2.1 Post-­processing Techniques 6.2.1.1 Synthesis of g-­C3N4 Nanosheets 6.2.1.2 Coating Methods 6.2.1.3 Assembling Methods 6.2.2 Direct Growth Methods 6.2.2.1 Solid/Liquid Mediated Growth 6.2.2.2 Gas-­phase Noncontact Growth 6.3 Solar Cells 6.4 Mechanism of PV Systems 6.5 Classifications of Solar Cells 6.5.1 Crystalline Silicon SCs 6.5.2 Monocrystalline Solar Cells 6.5.3 Polycrystalline 6.5.4 Amorphous Silicon 6.6 Thin-­film Solar Cells 6.6.1 Organic Solar Cells 6.6.1.1 Dye-­sensitized SCs 6.6.1.2 Perovskite Solar Cells 6.7 Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-­C3N4) in Solar Cells 6.7.1 Application of g-­C3N4 in Dye-­Sensitized Solar Cells 6.7.2 Application of g-­C3N4 in Perovskite and QD Solar Cells 6.8 Conclusions and Future Prospects References Chapter 7 - Hybrid Graphitic Carbon Nitride (gCN)-­based Devices for Energy Storage and Production 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Synthesis of Graphitic Carbon Nitrides 7.3 Hybrid Graphitic Carbon Nitride-­based Devices for Energy Storage 7.3.1 Supercapacitors 7.3.1.1 Carbon-­based Materials/gCN Hybrids 7.3.1.2 Metal Oxide/gCN Hybrids 7.3.1.3 Other gCN-­based Hybrids 7.3.2 Batteries 7.3.2.1 Lithium-­ion Batteries 7.3.2.1.1 Carbon-­based Materials/gCN Hybrids Metal Oxide/gCN Hybrids.Enhancing the characteristics of metal oxides with gCNs is commonly done. For clarification, a Zn2GeO4/g... Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2)/gCN Hybrids.MoS2/carbon-­based materials are vastly applied in LIBs because of the high MoS2 capacit... 7.3.2.2 Lithium–­sulfur Batteries 7.4 Conclusion and Future Perspectives References Chapter 8 - Emerging Applications for Graphitic Carbon Nitride-­based Materials: CO2 Reduction as a Case Study 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Graphitic Carbon Nitride for CO2 Photocatalytic Reduction 8.2.1 Nanostructured gCN and gCN with Defects 8.2.2 Non-­metal Doped gCN 8.2.3 gCN with co-­catalyst 8.2.3.1 Metal co-­catalyst 8.2.3.2 Carbon-­based co-­catalyst 8.2.3.3 Co-­catalysts of Metal Oxide/sulfide/phosphide 8.2.4 gCN-­based Composites 8.2.4.1 gCN Absorbent Composites 8.2.4.2 gCN-­based Heterojunctions 8.2.4.3 gCN/Metal Complex Photocatalysts 8.3 Conclusions References Chapter 9 - Combination of Carbon Nitride and Semiconductors for the Enhancement of the Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants and Hydrogen Production 9.1 Introduction 9.1.1 Preparation of gCN 9.1.2 Preparation of Pristine gCN 9.2 Main Modification Strategies of Pristine gCN 9.2.1 Exfoliation (Delamination) 9.2.2 Structure Defect Engineering 9.2.3 Surface Modification 9.2.4 Crystal Structure Optimization 9.2.5 The Morphological Features 9.2.5.1 Templating 9.3 Newer Preparation Strategies for Pristine gCN 9.3.1 Supramolecular Pre-­assembly for gCN Synthesis 9.3.2 Rapid Microwave-­assisted Production of gCN 9.3.3 Molten and Ionic Liquid Salt Strategy for the Preparation of gCN 9.4 gCN-­based Heterostructures 9.4.1 Fabrication Strategies of gCN-­based Heterojunctions 9.4.1.1 Isotype Heterojunctions 9.4.1.2 Supramolecular Pre-­assembly Method 9.4.1.3 Hydrothermal Technique 9.4.1.4 Solvothermal Method 9.4.1.5 Sol–Gel Technique 9.4.1.6 Microwave Method 9.4.1.7 Impregnation Method 9.4.1.8 Photodeposition Method 9.4.1.9 Sonication Mixing Method 9.4.2 Preparation of gCN-­based Heterocomposites 9.4.2.1 Preparation of Noble Metal-­doped (Decorated) gCN 9.4.2.2 Preparation of Transitional Metals and Metal Oxide Doped gCN 9.4.2.3 Preparation of Metal-­loaded gCN 9.4.2.4 Preparation of Non-­metal-­loaded gCN 9.5 Heterojunctions: Coupling of gCN with Semiconductor Photocatalysts 9.5.1 Design Criteria of gCN-­based Heterojunction Photocatalysts 9.5.2 Type II Heterojunction Systems 9.6 gCN-­based Z-­scheme Heterojunction Composites 9.6.1 Z-­scheme Heterojunction Photosystem Applications 9.7 Carbonaceous Carbon-­quantum-­dot Modified gCN 9.7.1 Applications of CQD Modified gCN-­based Heterojunctions 9.8 Applications of gCN-­based Photocatalysts 9.8.1 Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation 9.9 Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants Using gCN-­heterojunctions 9.10 Concluding Remarks List of Abbreviations References Subject Index