Research Progress of Graphitic Nitride Hydrogels for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

在可预见的未来，需要更加有效地解决严重威胁我们的能源危机。太阳能驱动的石墨氮化碳(g-C3N4)光催化分解水是从水中产生H2最有前途的方法。然而，块状g-C3N4具有比表面积小、缺陷密度高及电荷重组快等缺点，导致其光催化性能低下。通过纳米结构构建g-C3N43D多孔水凝胶是一种可行、快速且经济高效提高其光催化性能的方法。3D多孔结构可提高水凝胶复合材料的吸附能力、稳定性和可分离性。本文总结了基于g-C3N4的3D水凝胶在光催化分解水方面的最新进展。 Over the past few decades, there has been a need to deal the energy crisis effectively that has seriously threatened us. Solar-driven photocatalysis with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is considered to be the most promising approach for the generation of H2 from water and the reduction of CO2. However, bulk g-C3N4 exhibits several drawbacks, such as a low specific surface area, high defect density, and fast charge recombination, which result in low photocatalytic performance. The construction of 3D porous hydrogels for g-C3N4 through nanostructural engineering is a rapid, feasible, and cost-effective technique to improve the adsorption capability, stability, and separability of the hydrogel composite, to increase the number of active sites, and to create an internal conductive path for facile charge transfer and high photocatalytic activity. This review summarizes recent progress in photocatalytic water splitting and dye degradation by using g-C3N4-based hydrogels, with respect to state-of-the-art methods for synthesis, preparation, modification, and multicomponent coupling.