Stimuli-responsive photoluminescent (PL) materials have been widely used as fluorescent ink for data security applications. However, traditional fluorescent inks are limited in maintaining the secrecy of information because the inks are usually visible by naked eyes either under ambient light or UV-light illumination. Here, we introduced metal-free water-soluble graphitic carbon nitride quantum...

The major challenge of photocatalytic water splitting, the prototypical reaction for the direct production of hydrogen by using solar energy, is to develop low-cost yet highly efficient and stable semiconductor photocatalysts. Herein, an effective strategy for synthesizing extremely active graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) from a low-cost precursor, urea, is reported. The g-C3N4 exhibits an ext...

Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets were investigated for developing effective Pt catalyst supports for selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol in water. The nanosheets with an average thickness of about 3 nm were synthesized by a simple and green method through thermal oxidation etching of bulk g-C3N4 in air. Combined with the unique feature of nitrogen richness and locally con...

The future development of chemistry entails environmentally friendly and energy sustainable alternatives for organic transformations. Visible light photocatalysis can address these challenges, as reflected by recent intensive scientific endeavours to this end. This review covers state-of-the-art accomplishments in visible-light-induced selective organic transformations by heterogeneous photocat...

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) nanosheets were exfoliated from bulk g-C₃N₄ and utilized to improve the sensing performance of a pure graphene sensor for the first time. The role of hydrochloric acid treatment on the exfoliation result was carefully examined. The exfoliated products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force micros...

The composite framework of graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) supported copper nanoparticle can act as a high-performance photoreactor for the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole derivatives under light irradiation in the absence of alkaline condition. The photoactivity of gCN originates from an electron transition from the valence band to the conduction band, in the presence of photon energy, and the hot ...

The increasing concern about environmental pollution and fossil fuel energies have urged researchers to seek renewable energy sources and methods for pollutant decomposition. Photocatalysis seems to be one of the most promising approaches, which uses natural sunlight to produce hydrogen from water and removes organic pollutants from the environment. Among the various photocatalysts, graphitic c...

For the first time, it is demonstrated that the robust organic semiconductor g-C3N4 can be integrated into a nature-inspired water splitting system, analogous to PSII and PSI in natural photosynthesis. Two parallel systems have been developed for overall water splitting under visible light involving graphitic carbon nitride with two different metal oxides, BiVO4 and WO3. Consequently, both hydr...

Hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting using sunlight has enormous potential in solving the worldwide energy and environmental crisis. The key challenge in this process is to develop efficient photocatalysts which must satisfy several criteria such as high chemical and photochemical stability, effective charge separation and strong sunlight absorption. The combination of differe...