Point‐Defect Engineering: Leveraging Imperfections in Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g‐C3N4) Photocatalysts toward Artificial Photosynthesis

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2021-12, Vol.17 (48), p.e2006851-n/a
• Main Authors: Yu, Xinnan, Ng, Sue‐Faye, Putri, Lutfi Kurnianditia, Tan, Lling‐Lling, Mohamed, Abdul Rahman, Ong, Wee‐Jun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Carbon nitride; Catalysis; Catalytic activity; defect engineering; doping; Electromagnetic absorption; Graphite; graphitic carbon nitride; Nanomaterials; Nanotechnology; Nitrogen Compounds; Nitrogenation; Optical properties; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Photosynthesis; Point defects; Solar energy conversion; vacancy; Water splitting
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202006851

Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) is a kind of ideal metal‐free photocatalysts for artificial photosynthesis. At present, pristine g‐C3N4 suffers from small specific surface area, poor light absorption at longer wavelengths, low charge migration rate, and a high recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which significantly limit its performance. Among a myriad of modification strategies, point‐defect engineering, namely tunable vacancies and dopant introduction, is capable of harnessing the superb structural, textural, optical, and electronic properties of g‐C3N4 to acquire an ameliorated photocatalytic activity. In view of the burgeoning development in this pacey field, a timely review on the state‐of‐the‐art advancement of point‐defect engineering of g‐C3N4 is of vital significance to advance the solar energy conversion. Particularly, insights into the intriguing roles of point defects, the synthesis, characterizations, and the systematic control of point defects, as well as the versatile application of defective g‐C3N4‐based nanomaterials toward photocatalytic water splitting, carbon dioxide reduction and nitrogen fixation will be presented in detail. Lastly, this review will conclude with a balanced perspective on the technical and scientific hindrances and future prospects. Overall, it is envisioned that this review will open a new frontier to uncover novel functionalities of defective g‐C3N4‐based nanostructures in energy catalysis. Point‐defect engineering, namely tunable vacancies and dopant introduction, has received increasing interest for its capability of harnessing the superb structural, textural, optical, and electronic properties of g‐C3N4 photocatalysts. Herein, this review focuses most on the role and application of defective g‐C3N4‐based nanomaterials toward photocatalytic water splitting, CO2 reduction, and N2 fixation. Challenges and prospects in this pacey field are discussed.