Bio-inspired nanostructured g-C3N4-based photocatalysts: A comprehensive review

As a new organic conjugated semiconductor, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is emerging as fascinating material for various photocatalytic applications due to its adjustable electronic structure, outstanding thermal endurance, appealing chemical stability, low cost, and environmental friendliness. Nevertheless, unmodified bulk g-C3N4 possesses some intrinsic limitations related poor crystallinity, marginal visible-light harvesting, easy recombination of charge pairs, small surface area, slow migration, which give rise the quantum efficiency reactions. One efficient strategy overcome these shortcomings manipulation microstructures g-C3N4. Other than traditional structure control, mimicking structures creatures in nature design construct bio-inspired promising approach improve performance even g-C3N4-based systems. This review summarizes recent advances structure-control systems, synthesis systems from two aspects structural bionics functional bionics. Furthermore, fundamentals fabrication are introduced detail. Additionally, different theoretical calculations, diverse modification strategies structured recapped. We believe that this work will be guiding star future research field biomimetic photocatalysis.