Construction of efficient active sites through cyano-modified graphitic carbon nitride for photocatalytic CO2 reduction

The active site amount of photocatalysts, being the key factors in photocatalytic reactions, directly affects performance photocatalyst. Pristine graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) exhibits moderate activity due to insufficient sites. In this study, cyano-modified porous g-C3N4 nanosheets (MCN-0.5) were synthesized through molecular self-assembly and alkali-assisted strategies. cyano group acted as reaction, because good electron-withdrawing property promoted carrier separation. Benefiting from effect sites, MCN-0.5 exhibited significantly enhanced for CO2 reduction under visible light irradiation. Notably, was reduced when groups removed by hydrochloric acid (HCl) treatment, further verifying role photoreduction Pt nanoparticles provided an intuitive indication that introduction more sites reaction. Furthermore, controlled experiments showed grafted with using melamine precursor activity, which proved versatility strategy enhancing via modification. situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy theoretical calculations used investigate mechanism g-C3N4. This work provides a promising route promoting efficient solar energy conversion designing photocatalysts.