Original Article:
Porous crystalline g-C3N4: Bifunctional NaHCO3 template-mediated synthesis and improved photocatalytic H2-evolution rate
Xinhe Wu, et al.
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2020, 271: 118899.
10.1016/j.apcatb.2020.118899
Hydrogen carbonate, also known as bicarbonate, is a polyatomic anion with the chemical formula HCO3-. It is formed from the combination of carbon dioxide and water and acts as both an acid and a base. Hydrogen carbonate is commonly found in baking soda and is used in industries such as food, medicine and agriculture. Recent cutting-edge research has also explored the mediation role of bicarbonate in the field of photocatalysis.
In this work, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) was used as a gaseous templating agent to induce the formation of fluffy and porous prepolydicyandiamide. The generated sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) can further serve as a high-temperature solvent to promote the effective crystallization of the s-triazine structure, resulting in porous crystalline graphitized carbonitrides (g-C3N4). This porous crystalline g-C3N4 exhibits a significantly enhanced H2 evolution rate, implying that the proposed bifunctional template-mediated approach can provide a new technique for the synthesis of highly porous crystalline materials.
The bifunctional NaHCO3 template-mediated method is shown in the figure, and its specific process includes:
1. Dicyandiamide (DCDA) and sodium bicarbonate were dispersed, dissolved, and freeze-dried to obtain NaHCO3/DCDA precursor.
2. The NaHCO3/DCDA precursor was directly calcined at 550 °C for 4 h to obtain Na2CO3-embedded porous crystalline g-C3N4.
3. The residual Na2CO3 was completely removed from the resulting g-C3N4 by a simple hydrothermal treatment to eliminate the effect of Na2CO3 on the hydrogen production rate of porous crystalline g-C3N4.
Chemicals Related in the Paper:
| Catalog Number | Product Name | Structure | CAS Number | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACM71523 | hydrogen carbonate |  |
71-52-3 | Price |
