In situ formation of a covalent organic framework on g-C3N4 encapsulated with nanocellulosic carbon for enhanced photocatalytic N2-to-NH3 conversion

作者：Shan, Tianshang; Luo, Hao; Wu, Shengye; Li, Jiashu; Zhang, Fengshan; Xiao, He^*; Huang, Liulian; Chen, Lihui

来源：Fuel, 2024, 358: 130157.

DOI：10.1016/j.fuel.2023.130157

• Graphitic carbon nitride
• Cellulose nanofibers
• Covalent organic framework
• Nitrogen fixation

Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation has become a promising strategy to realize artificial ammonia synthesis. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4, GCN) exhibits significant possibilities for photocatalytic nitrogen fixation, but slow photo-generated electron transfer/separation still restricts its photocatalytic performance. Therefore, we fabricate a novel covalent organic framework (COF) hetero-bridging on g-C3N4 encapsulated with nanocellulosederived carbon (CF) via a simple two-step thermal condensation method. With COF and CF acting as the cocatalysts, the optimum NH3 yield on GCNc/COF can reach up to 238.1 mu mol center dot g- 1 center dot h-1, which is 8.92 times higher than that of the pristine GCN under visible light irradiation. The prominently photocatalytic enhancement of the resultant GCNc/COF is first ascribed to the incorporation of COF (463.6 m2 center dot g- 1) with net-like structure for N2 molecules conspicuous activation/adsorption. Moreover, the coupled cellulosic carbon fibers served as a cocatalyst can not only prolong the light-harvest, but also facilitate the migration/seperation of photogenerated carriers. Therefore, this work provides a probable mechanism for the significantly enhancement of photocatalytic nitrogen fixation and threads for the design of highly active catalysts for NH3 photo-generation.

• 单位
  福建农林大学