Rational Design of Carbon‐Based 2D Nanostructures for Enhanced Photocatalytic CO₂Reduction: A Dimensionality Perspective

Abstract

Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction is ar evolutionary approach to solve imminent energy and environmental issues by replicating the ingenuity of nature. The past decadeh as witnessed an impetus in the rise of two-dimensional (2D) structure materials as advanced nanomaterials to boost photocatalytic activities. In particular,t he use of 2D carbonbased materials is deemed as highly favorable, not only as a green material choice, but also due to their exceptional physicochemical and electricalp roperties. This Review article presents ad iverse range of alterations and compositions derived from 2D carbon-basedn anomaterials, mainly graphene and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4), whichh ave remarkably ameliorated the photocatalytic CO 2 performance. Herein, the rational design of the photocatalyst systems with consideration of the aspect of dimensionality and the resultant heterostructures at the interface are systematically analyzed to elucidatea ni nsightful perspective on this pacey subject. Finally,aconclusion and outlooko nt he limitations andp rospects of the cutting-edge research field are highlighted.

Progress and challenges in photocatalytic ammonia synthesis

“…Because of its excellent optical properties, low cost, and good stability, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has attracted much scientific interest in the field of photocatalysis. [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] Dong et al have reported the application of the NVs-incorporated g-C3N4 (V-g-C3N4) for photoreduce N2. 54 They found that the N2 adsorption amount of V-g-C3N4 was 75.1 cm 3 g -1 , 2.4 times higher than that of g-C3N4 without NVs (30.9 cm 3 g -1 ), which suggested that the NVs on the surface of V-g-C3N4 could provide a number of chemisorption and activation sites for N2 molecules, leading to an NH3 production rate of 1.24 mmol h -1 gcat -1 under visible light irradiation in the presence of methanol as a hole scavenger.…”

Titanium‐Based MOF Materials: From Crystal Engineering to Photocatalysis

“…Photocatalytic reactions such as H 2 production, CO 2 reduction, H 2 O 2 production, N 2 fixation, waste remediation, photocatalysis of organic reaction, and photocatalytic sensors are conducted to mimic natural photosynthesis involving solar energy. [82][83][84][85] Key processes for photocatalysis include 1) light harvesting; 2) photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation and transportation; 3) reduction reaction with electron or oxidation reaction with hole. [86] Integrating with photosensitizer and catalytic sites in a single crystal, titanium-based MOFs are a kind of promising photocatalysts that possess excellent light-harvesting and catalytic ability.…”

Engineering Surface N‐Vacancy Defects of Ultrathin Mesoporous Carbon Nitride Nanosheets as Efficient Visible‐Light‐Driven Photocatalysts

“…[ 21–23 ] To increase the photocatalytic performance, some scientists have contributed to modify GCN to solve these two problems, which is usually accompanied with band energy level modulation, crystal structure modification, morphology, and composition control. [ 16,24–26 ]…”

“…[21][22][23] To increase the photocatalytic performance, some scientists have contributed to modify GCN to solve these two problems, which is usually accompanied with band energy level modulation, crystal structure modification, morphology, and composition control. [16,[24][25][26] DOI: 10.1002/solr.202000610 Graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) has become an attractive photocatalyst for solar energy conversion, but the photocatalytic activity of GCN is still limited by the extremely fast electron-hole recombination. Herein, a defective ultrathin mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (DUMCN) photocatalyst with high specific surface area and mesoporous structure is fabricated through a facile three-step heat-treatment strategy, which reduces the distance of bulk photogenerated carriers to the surface, resulting in efficient adsorption and diffusion of reactants and products, and exposing adequate surface active sites.…”