Controllable fabrication of 3D porous carbon nitride with ultra-thin nanosheets templated by ionic liquid for highly efficient water splitting

Abstract Modifying the texture of carbon nitride to adjust its physicochemical performance is a fascinating method for achieving high photocatalytic activity. Herein, we synthesized 3D porous carbon nitride with ultra-thin nanosheets by using cyanuric acid-melamine supramolecular and ionic liquid as precursor and template, respectively. The ionic liquid adjusts the morphology of materials and induces the carbon residue into the porous channels owing to its incomplete degradation. The 3D porous framework makes carbon nitride reflect the enhanced surface area, exposes adequate reaction sites, and offers a pathway for charge transport. And carbon residue and ultra-thin nanosheets further promote the photogenerated carriers transport and reduce the recombination rate of charge carriers. Consequently, 3D porous carbon nitride with ultra-thin nanosheets exhibit outstanding and stable hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation. Significantly, as-fabricated sample CN-100 reflects an improved H2 generation rate, up to 17,028 μmol h−1 g−1, which is 12 times higher than that of CN (1412 μmol h−1 g−1). The present work offers a unique synthesis strategy to develop the novel photocatalyst with efficient photocatalytic performance.