Improved Charge Separation in Poly(heptazine-triazine) Imides with Semi-coherent Interfaces for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Nov 21;61(47):e202210849. doi: 10.1002/anie.202210849. Epub 2022 Oct 21.

Abstract

The construction of heterojunctions is a promising manner to accelerate the separation and transfer of the charge carriers at the interface. Herein, a binary poly(heptazine-triazine) imides (PHI/PTI) with semi-coherent interfaces was fabricated via a facile two-step salt-melt synthetic process. The built-in electric fields at the semi-coherent interface endow prompt exciton splitting and charge carrier separation. Hence, the optimized PHI/PTI-based copolymer presents a high apparent quantum yield (AQY=64 %) for visible-light driven hydrogen production, by the aids of K2 HPO4 as charge transfer mediator. This study provides physical insights for the rational promotion of the photocatalytic performance from the viewpoint of interfacial engineering of photocatalytic junctions on crystalline carbon nitride based semiconductors.

Keywords: Charge seperation; Hydrogen Production; Photocatalysis; Polymeric Carbon Nitride; Semi-Coherent Interface.