Increasingπ-electron availability in benzene ring incorporated graphitic carbon nitride for increased photocatalytic hydrogen generation

Increasing the availability ofπ-electron in graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))can reduce the band gap and thus enhance the photocatalytic hydrogen(H_(2))generation activity upon exposure to visible light,However,such strategy has not yet been largely applied to increase the H_(2)generation of g-C_(3)N_(4).Herein,we succes s fully increased the amount ofπ-electron in g-C_(3)N_(4)by incorporatingπ-electron-rich benzene rings through copolymerization of melamine and trimesic acid in air.The incorporation of benzene rings not only extends the light absorption of g-C_(3)N_(4)to 650 nm,but also improves the electrical conductivity due to delocalization ofπelectrons in benzene rings.As a result,a 3.4 times enhancement of photocatalytic H_(2)generation was achieved from the g-C_(3)N_(4)with benzene ring incorporation in comparing with that of pristine g-C_(3)N_(4).More interestingly,H_(2)generation still occurs under irradiation of the light ofλ≥490 nm,above the absorption edge of pristine g-C_(3)N_(4)(~460 nm),illustrating the positive effectiveness of incorporated benzene rings on enhancing the H_(2)generation capacity of g-C_(3)N_(4).The present work manifests the advantages of increasingπ-conjugated electrons on designing highly active g-C_(3)N_(4)photocatalysts.