Construction of crystalline graphitic carbon nitride composites: Photocatalytic energy conversion

Title : Construction of crystalline graphitic carbon nitride composites: Photocatalytic energy conversion

Abstract:

Combustion of fossil fuel has been one of the main causes for the rising pollutants level in the atmosphere that leads to global warming and anthropogenic climate change. Development of effective strategies that can reduce greenhouse emission and increase renewable energy utilization has been one of the top priorities to date due to the surging global energy demand and consumption. Among the various catalysts developed, solar-driven photocatalysts has been promising choices for a variety of catalytic energy conversion and environmental applications, e.g., CO₂ conversion, nitrogen reduction, H₂ and H₂O₂ production, etc. And layered graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has been a popular semiconductor base for constructing composite catalysts for photo-/electro-catalytic energy conversion applications. The photocatalytic performance of layered g-C₃N₄ based composites is often related to factors such as, morphology, crystallinity, and interfacial structure of the material. g-C₃N₄ based composites using highly crystalline g-C₃N₄ nanosheets base often show well-developed interfaces compared with the composites fabricated using amorphous g-C₃N₄ base. Various metal-based nanocomposite materials with excellent catalytic activity (e.g., WO_x, W₂C, W₂N, etc.) can be incorporated into the crystalline g-C₃N₄ substrate using the idea of nanoarchitectonics to attain enhanced photo-/electro-catalytic performances. For instance, a H₂O₂ evolution rate of 5550 µMg⁻¹h⁻¹ could be observed for a two dimensional (2D)/2D W₁₈O₄₉ modified crystalline g-C₃N₄ based composites under full solar-spectrum condition. Since the development of high-performance g-C₃N₄-based materials/technologies for attaining practical applications is still challenging, investigation on g-C₃N₄ nanoarchitectonics can be pivotal for providing inspiration for the synthesis of g-C₃N₄ materials and the scale-up utilization of the materials for energy conversion and environmental related applications.

Audience Take Away:

• Knowledge/information on g-C₃N₄ materials with different crystallinity and morphology, as well as g-C₃N₄ nanoarchitectonics (a post-nanotechnology concept).
• Knowledge on the utilization of graphitic carbon nitride based composites in various photo-/electro-catalytic energy conversion applications.
• Providing inspiration for the synthesis of g-C₃N₄ based materials and the scale-up utilization of the materials.

Biography:

Dr. Xiao Zhang obtained her Honours Bachelor of Science degree from University of Toronto (Canada) and Master of Philosophy degree from University of New South Wales (Australia). She was awarded with Doctor of Philosophy by Curtin University (Australia). Her research interests encompass carbon-based materials, carbon dioxide conversion, water splitting, photo-/electro-chemical catalysis, and photoluminescent materials. From 2022, Xiao Zhang joined Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology in Cracow University of Technology as assistant professor.