Research Information System
Advanced Sustainable Systems, vol.8, no.12, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Melon (also known as graphitic carbon nitride, g-C3N4) holds promise for photocatalysis, but challenges such as severe charge recombination, low oxidation potential, and sluggish exciton dissociation hinder its performance. Herein, a series of carbon-rich, melon-based photocatalysts are synthesized via one-pot, temperature-induced condensation of urea with the addition of a trace amount of citric acid. The addition of citric acid enhances crystallinity, extends melon chains, increases the C/N ratio, and improves π–π layer stacking of heptazine units, thereby enhancing charge transport properties and visible-light harvesting capacity. These carbon nitride samples are then coupled with molten salt synthesized K4Nb6O17 crystals by a straightforward self-assembly method to construct 2D/2D heterostructure photocatalysts. Z-scheme electron transfer from K4Nb6O17 to the melon samples is established based on their work functions and band edge positions. This efficient charge transfer in the Z-scheme heterostructure facilitates the spatial separation of charge carriers, resulting in a nearly fivefold enhancement in photocatalytic performance compared to the individual constituents.