TY - JOUR A1 - Xu, Jingsan A1 - Brenner, Thomas J. K. A1 - Chabanne, Laurent A1 - Neher, Dieter A1 - Antonietti, Markus A1 - Shalom, Menny T1 - Liquid-Based growth of polymeric carbon nitride layers and their use in a mesostructured polymer solar cell with V-oc exceeding 1 V JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society N2 - Herein we report a general liquid-mediated pathway for the growth of continuous polymeric carbon nitride (C3N4) thin films. The deposition method consists of the use of supramolecular complexes that transform to the liquid state before direct thermal condensation into C3N4 solid films. The resulting films exhibit continuous porous C3N4 networks on various substrates. Moreover, the optical absorption can be easily tuned to cover the solar spectrum by the insertion of an additional molecule into the starting complex. The strength of the deposition method is demonstrated by the use of the C3N4 layer as the electron acceptor in a polymer solar cell that exhibits a remarkable open-circuit voltage exceeding 1 V. The easy, safe, and direct synthesis of carbon nitride in a continuous layered architecture on different functional substrates opens new possibilities for the fabrication of many energy-related devices. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/ja508329c SN - 0002-7863 VL - 136 IS - 39 SP - 13486 EP - 13489 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington 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 - 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Jordan, Thomas A1 - Fechler, Nina A1 - Xu, Jingsan A1 - Brenner, Thomas J. K. A1 - Antonietti, Markus A1 - Shalom, Menny T1 - "Caffeine Doping" of Carbon/Nitrogen-Based Organic Catalysts: Caffeine as a Supramolecular Edge Modifier for the Synthesis of Photoactive Carbon Nitride Tubes JF - ChemCatChem : heterogeneous & homogeneous & bio- & nano-catalysis ; a journal of ChemPubSoc Europe N2 - An alternative method for the structure tuning of carbon nitride materials by using a supramolecular approach in combination with caffeine as lining-agent is described. The self-assembly of the precursor complex consisting of melamine and cyanuric acid can be controlled by this doping molecule in terms of morphology, electronic, and photophysical properties. Caffeine is proposed to insert as an edge-molecule eventually leading to hollow tube-like carbon nitride structures with improved efficiency of charge formation. Compared to the bulk carbon nitride, the caffeine-doped analogue possesses a higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamineB dye. Furthermore, this approach is also shown to be suitable for the modification of carbon nitride electrodes. KW - caffeine KW - carbon nitride KW - films KW - photocatalysis KW - supramolecular chemistry Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201500343 SN - 1867-3880 SN - 1867-3899 VL - 7 IS - 18 SP - 2826 EP - 2830 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Xu, Jingsan A1 - Shalom, Menny A1 - Piersimoni, Fortunato A1 - Antonietti, Markus A1 - Neher, Dieter A1 - Brenner, Thomas J. K. T1 - Color-Tunable Photoluminescence and NIR Electroluminescence in Carbon Nitride Thin Films and Light-Emitting Diodes JF - Advanced optical materials Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.201500019 SN - 2195-1071 VL - 3 IS - 7 SP - 913 EP - 917 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER -