TY  - JOUR
A1  - Chen, Zupeng
A1  - Savateev, Aleksandr
A1  - Pronkin, Sergey
A1  - Papaefthimiou, Vasiliki
A1  - Wolff, Christian Michael
A1  - Willinger, Marc Georg
A1  - Willinger, Elena
A1  - Neher, Dieter
A1  - Antonietti, Markus
A1  - Dontsova, Dariya
T1  - "The Easier the Better" Preparation of Efficient Photocatalysts-Metastable Poly(heptazine imide) Salts
JF  - Advanced materials
N2  - Cost-efficient, visible-light-driven hydrogen production from water is an attractive potential source of clean, sustainable fuel. Here, it is shown that thermal solid state reactions of traditional carbon nitride precursors (cyanamide, melamine) with NaCl, KCl, or CsCl are a cheap and straightforward way to prepare poly(heptazine imide) alkali metal salts, whose thermodynamic stability decreases upon the increase of the metal atom size. The chemical structure of the prepared salts is confirmed by the results of X-ray photoelectron and infrared spectroscopies, powder X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies, and, in the case of sodium poly(heptazine imide), additionally by atomic pair distribution function analysis and 2D powder X-ray diffraction pattern simulations. In contrast, reactions with LiCl yield thermodynamically stable poly(triazine imides). Owing to the metastability and high structural order, the obtained heptazine imide salts are found to be highly active photo-catalysts in Rhodamine B and 4-chlorophenol degradation, and Pt-assisted sacrificial water reduction reactions under visible light irradiation. The measured hydrogen evolution rates are up to four times higher than those provided by a benchmark photocatalyst, mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride. Moreover, the products are able to photocatalytically reduce water with considerable reaction rates, even when glycerol is used as a sacrificial hole scavenger.
KW  - carbon nitride
KW  - glycerol oxidation
KW  - mesocrystals
KW  - poly(heptazine imide)
KW  - water reduction reactions
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201700555
SN  - 0935-9648
SN  - 1521-4095
VL  - 29
SP  - 21800
EP  - 21806
PB  - Wiley-VCH
CY  - Weinheim
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Xu, Jingsan
A1  - Brenner, Thomas J. K.
A1  - Chen, Zupeng
A1  - Neher, Dieter
A1  - Antonietti, Markus
A1  - Shalom, Menny
T1  - Upconversion-agent induced improvement of g-C3N4 photocatalyst under visible light
JF  - ACS applied materials & interfaces
N2  - Herein, we report the use of upconversion agents to modify graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) by direct thermal condensation of a mixture of ErCl3 center dot 6H(2)O and the supramolecular precursor cyanuric acid-melamine. We show the enhancement of g-C3N4 photoactivity after Er3+ doping by monitoring the photodegradation of Rhodamine B dye under visible light. The contribution of the upconversion agent is demonstrated by measurements using only a red laser. The Er3+ doping alters both the electronic and the chemical properties of g-C3N4. The Er3+ doping reduces emission intensity and lifetime, indicating the formation of new, nonradiative deactivation pathways, probably involving charge-transfer processes.
KW  - metal-free photocatalysis
KW  - upconversion
KW  - carbon nitride
KW  - RhB photodegradation
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1021/am5051263
SN  - 1944-8244
VL  - 6
IS  - 19
SP  - 16481
EP  - 16486
PB  - American Chemical Society
CY  - Washington
ER  -