TY  - JOUR
A1  - Xu, Jingsan
A1  - Cao, Shaowen
A1  - Brenner, Thomas J. K.
A1  - Yang, Xiaofei
A1  - Yu, Jiaguo
A1  - Antonietti, Markus
A1  - Shalom, Menny
T1  - Supramolecular Chemistry in Molten Sulfur: Preorganization Effects Leading to Marked Enhancement of Carbon Nitride Photoelectrochemistry
JF  - Advanced functional materials
N2  - Here, a new method for enhancing the photoelectrochemical properties of carbon nitride thin films by in situ supramolecular-driven preorganization of phenyl-contained monomers in molten sulfur is reported. A detailed analysis of the chemical and photophysical properties suggests that the molten sulfur can texture the growth and induce more effective integration of phenyl groups into the carbon nitride electrodes, resulting in extended light absorption alongside with improved conductivity and better charge transfer. Furthermore, photophysical measurements indicate the formation of sub-bands in the optical bandgap which is beneficial for exciton splitting. Moreover, the new bands can mediate hole transfer to the electrolyte, thus improving the photooxidation activity. The utilization of high temperature solvent as the polymerization medium opens new opportunities for the significant improvement of carbon nitride films toward an efficient photoactive material for various applications.
KW  - carbon nitride thin film
KW  - charge transfer
KW  - molten sulfur
KW  - photoelectrochemistry
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201502843
SN  - 1616-301X
SN  - 1616-3028
VL  - 25
IS  - 39
SP  - 6265
EP  - 6271
PB  - Wiley-VCH
CY  - Weinheim
ER  -