Composite polymer electrolyte reinforced by graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets for room-temperature all-solid-state lithium batteries

By virtue of the flexibility and safety, polyethylene oxide(PEO) based electrolytes are regarded as an appealing candidate for all-solid-state lithium batteries. However, their application is limited by the poor ionic conductivity at room temperature, narrow electrochemical stability window and uncontrolled growth of lithium dendrite. To alleviate these problems, we introduce the ultrathin graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets(GCN) as advanced nanofillers into PEO based electrolytes(GCN-CPE). Benefiting from the high surface area and abundant surface N-active sites of GCN, the GCN-CPE displays decreased crystallinity and enhanced ionic conductivity. Meanwhile, Fourier transform infrared and chronoamperometry studies indicate that GCN can facilitate Li+migration in the composite electrolyte. Additionally, the GCN-CPE displays an extended electrochemical window compared with PEO based electrolytes. As a result, Li symmetric battery assembled with GCN-CPE shows a stable Li plating/stripping cycling performance, and the all-solid-state Li/LiNi_(0.6)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.2)O_(2)(NCM622) batteries using GCN-CPE exhibit satisfactory cyclability and rate capability in a voltage range of 3-4.2 V at 30 ℃.

Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets mitigate cadmium toxicity in Glycine max L.by promoting cadmium retention in root and improving photosynthetic performance

Cadmium(Cd)pollution poses a serious threat to plant growth and yield.Nanomaterials have shown great application potential for alleviation of Cd toxicity to plants.In this study,we applied graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets(g-C_(3)N_(4)NSs)for alleviation of Cd-toxicity to soybean(Glycine max L.).The g-C_(3)N_(4)NSs supplementation significantly improved plant growth and reduced oxidative damage in the Cd-toxicated soybean seedlings through hydroponic culture.Particularly,the g-C_(3)N_(4)NSs dynamically regulated the root cell wall(RCW)components by increasing pectin content and modifying its demethylation via enhancing pectin methylesterase(PME)activity,therefore greatly enhanced stronger RCW-Cd retention(up to 82.8%)and reduced Cd migration to the shoot.Additionally,the g-C_(3)N_(4)NSs reversed the Cd-induced chlorosis,increased photosynthetic efficiency because of enhancement in F_v/F_mration,Y(Ⅱ)and sugars content.These results provide new insights into the alleviation of Cd toxicity to plants by g-C_(3)N_(4)NSs,and shed light on the application of low-cost and environmental-friendly carbon-based NMs for alleviating heavy metal toxicity to plants.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity by the construction of a TiO2/carbon nitride nanosheets heterostructure with high surface area via direct interracial assembly

A TiO2 heterostructure modified with carbon nitride nanosheets （CN-NSs） has been synthesized via a direct interfacial assembly strategy. The CN-NSs, which have a unique two-dimensional structure, were favorable for supporting TiOa nanoparticles （NPs）. The uniform dispersion of TiO2 NPs on the surface of the CN-NSs creates sufficient interfacial contact at their nanojunctions, as was confirmed by electron microscopy analyses. In comparison with other reported metal oxide/CN composites, the strong interactions of the ultrathin CN-NSs layers with the TiO2 nanoparticles restrain their re-stacking, which results in a large specific surface area of 234.0 m2.g-1. The results indicate that the optimized TiOJCN-NSs hybrid exhibits remarkably enhanced photocatalytic efficiency for dye degradation （with k of 0.167 min-1 under full spectrum） and Ha production （with apparent quantum yield -- 38.4% for A = 400 ＋ 15 nm monochromatic light）. This can be ascribed to the improved surface area and quantum efficiency of the hybrid, with a controlled ratio that reaches the appropriate balance between producing sufficient nanojunctions and absorbing enough photons. Furthermore, based on the identification of the main active species for photodegradation, and the confirmation of active sites for H2 evolution, the charge transfer pathway across the TiO2/CN-NSs interface under simulated solar light is proposed.

Er-doped all-fiber laser mode-locked by graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets

Few-layer graphitic carbon nitride （g-C-N-） nanosheets were fabricated and utilized as a saturable absorber for mode-locking in an Er-doped fiber laser with net normal dispersion. Tile g-CaN,-/polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） hybrid-film-based saturable absorber has a modulation depth of 4.01% and a saturation intensity of 7.5 MW/cm2. By integrating g-C3N4-PVA mode-locker into the laser cavity, a mode-locked operation could be obtained. The achieved mode-locking pulse centered at 1530.3 nm has a pulse width of 530 ps. Its repetition rate is 40.8 MHz, and the corresponding signal-to-noise ratio is about 55 dB.

Band Engineering and Morphology Control of Oxygen‑Incorporated Graphitic Carbon Nitride Porous Nanosheets for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Graphitic carbon nitride(g-C3N4)-based photocatalysts have shown great potential in the splitting of water.However,the intrinsic drawbacks of g-C3N4,such as low surface area,poor diffusion,and charge separation efficiency,remain as the bottleneck to achieve highly efficient hydrogen evolution.Here,a hollow oxygen-incorporated g-C3N4 nanosheet(OCN)with an improved surface area of 148.5 m2 g^−1 is fabricated by the multiple thermal treatments under the N2/O2 atmosphere,wherein the C–O bonds are formed through two ways of physical adsorption and doping.The physical characterization and theoretical calculation indicate that the O-adsorption can promote the generation of defects,leading to the formation of hollow morphology,while the O-doping results in reduced band gap of g-C3N4.The optimized OCN shows an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity of 3519.6μmol g^−1 h^−1 for~20 h,which is over four times higher than that of g-C3N4(850.1μmol g^−1 h^−1)and outperforms most of the reported g-C3N4 catalysts.

Construction of Fluorescence Sensing Platform on the Basis of Carbon Nitride Nanosheet for the Detection of Interferon-γ

Purpose: Interferon-γ (INF-γ) is a cytokine that participates in the immune reaction of the body. Its level of secretion can reflect the immune response condition after the body is infected by pathogens, which is a significant indication of clinically-related diseases. Therefore, it is of great significance in application to develop a fluorescence biosensor to inspect INF-γ with rapidness, high sensitivity and high practicability. Method: The fluorescence sensor is made on the basis of the two-dimensional nano-material namely Carbon Nitride Nanosheet (CNNS) and the Aptamer probe to identify INF-γ (Apt®INF-γ). CNNS can quickly quench the Cy5 fluorescent dye modified on the Apt®INF-γ probe due to the Photoinduced Electron Transfer (PET), but when the INF-γ exists, Apt®INF-γ specifically identifies and combines it. The complex of Apt®INF-γ and INF-γ is away from CNNS, which can effectively block the fluorescent signal of Apt?INF-γ being quenched by CNNS. Result: The sensitive detection of IFN-γ protein can be achieved through the application of CNNS/Apt®INF-γ fluorescence sensing platform. In this method, the intensity of the fluorescent signal is positively correlated with the concentration of IFN-γ, of which the liner response range is 0.5 - 100 ng/mL and the limit of detection is 0.303 ng/mL. In addition, this fluorescence sensing platform has the advantages of high specificity, simple operation and low costs. It can inspect the content of IFN-γ in clinical serum samples without interference. The actual recovery rate of serum samples is 97.11% - 106.96%. Conclusion: Therefore, the CNNS/Apt®INF-γ sensing platform is expected to be implemented in the actual clinical detection, also conducive to developing a universal fluorescence biosensor to inspect other target materials.

Green and selective hydrogenation of aromatic diamines over the nanosheet Ru/g-C_(3)N_(4)-H_(2) catalyst prepared by ultrasonic assisted impregnation-deposition method

In this study,nanosheet g-C_(3)N_(4)-H_(2) was prepared by thermal exfoliation of bulk g-C_(3)N_(4) under hydrogen.A series of Ru/g-C_(3)N_(4)-H_(2) catalysts with Ru species supported on the nanosheet g-C_(3)N_(4)-H_(2) were synthesized via ultrasonic assisted impregnation-deposition method.Ultrafine Ru nanoparticles(<2 nm)were highly dispersed on nanosheet g-C_(3)N_(4)-H_(2).Strong interaction due to Ru-Nx coordination facilitated the uniform distribution of Ru species.Meanwhile,the involvement of surface basicity derived from abundant nitrogen sites was favourable for enhancing the selective hydrogenation performance of bi-benzene ring,i.e.,almost complete 4,40-diaminodiphenylmethane(MDA)conversion and>99%4,40-diaminodicyclohexylmethane selectivity,corresponding to a reaction activity of 35.7 mol_(MDA) mol_(Ru)^(-1) h^(-1).Moreover,the reaction activity of catalyst in the fifth run was 36.5 mol_(MDA) mol_(Ru)^(-1) h^(-1),which was comparable with that of the fresh one.The computational results showed that g-C_(3)N_(4) as support was favorable for adsorption and dissociation of H_(2) molecules.Moreover,the substrate scope can be successfully expanded to a variety of other aromatic diamines.Therefore,this work provides an efficient and green catalyst system for selective hydrogenation of aromatic diamines.

Introducing B–N unit boosts photocatalytic H_(2)O_(2) production on metal-free g-C_(3)N_(4)nanosheets

Metal-free catalyst for photocatalytic production of H_(2)O_(2)is highly desirable with the long-term vision of artificial photosynthesis of solar fuel.In particular,the specific chemical bonds for selective H_(2)O_(2)photosynthesis via 2e–oxygen reduction reactions(ORR)remain to be explored for understanding the forming mechanism of active sites.Herein,we report a facile doping method to introduce boron-nitrogen(B–N)bonds into the structure of graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))nanosheets(denoted as BCNNS)to provide significant photocatalytic activity,selectivity and stability.The theoretical calculation and experimental results reveal that the electron-deficient B–N units serving as electron acceptors improve photogenerated charge separation and transfer.The units are also proved to be superior active sites for selective O_(2)adsorption and activation,reducing the energy barrier for*OOH formation,and thereby enabling an efficient 2e–ORR pathway to H_(2)O_(2).Consequently,with only bare loss of activity during repeated cycles,the optimal H2O2 production rate by BCNNS photocatalysts reaches 1.16 mmol·L^(–1)·h^(–1)under 365 nm-monochrome light emitting diode(LED365nm)irradiation,increasing nearly 2–5 times as against the state-of-art metal-free photocatalysts.This work gives the first example of applying B–N bonds to enhance the photocatalytic H_(2)O_(2)production as well as unveiling the underlying reaction pathway for efficient solar-energy transformations.

Face-to-face heterojunctions within 2D/2D porous NiCo oxyphosphide/g-C_(3)N_(4)towards efficient and stable photocatalytic H_(2)evolution

Constructing 2D/2D face-to-face heterojunctions is believed to be an effective strategy to enhance photocatalytic performance due to the enlarged contact interface and increased surface active sites.Herein,2D porous NiCo oxyphosphide(NiCoOP)was synthesized for the first time and coupled with graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))nanosheets to form 2D/2D heterojunctions via an in-situ phosphating method.The optimal 4 wt.%2D/2D NiCoOP/g-C_(3)N_(4)(OPCN)photocatalyst achieves a hydrogen evolution rate of 1.4 mmol·h^(−1)·g^(−1),which is 33 times higher than that of pure g-C_(3)N_(4).The greatly improved photocatalytic performance of the composite photocatalysts could be attributed to the formation of interfacial surface bonding states and sufficient charge transfer channels for accelerating carrier separation and transfer and the porous structure of NiCoOP nanosheets with abundant surface active sites for promoting surface reactions.Amazingly,the 2D/2D OPCN composite photocatalysts also exhibit superior stability during photocatalytic reactions.This study not only designs new noble-metal-free NiCoOP/g-C_(3)N_(4)composite photocatalysts but also provides a new sight in fabricating face-to-face 2D/2D heterojunctions for their application in energy conversion areas.