A team of researchers from the Fuzhou University (China) has accomplished to synthesized self-supporting carbon nitride (CN) aerogels through an aqueous sol-gel process followed by freeze drying (see Figure).
The resulting aerogels, which were manufactured without the need for strong acids or cross-linking agents, exhibit electrical conductivity and high specific surface areas. In theory, these reported material characteristics are ideal preconditions for the utilization of the novel aerogels as photocatalysts.
To demonstrate the aerogels’ photocatalytic activity, the authors measured hydrogen evolution rates of several CN-based materials immersed in an irradiated water/triethanolamine (TEOA) solution and found that for the analyzed settings, the water splitting reaction was accelerated by almost one order of magnitude in the presence of the CN aerogel, when compared to bulk CN. Moreover, it was found that the aerogel catalysts exhibit good cycling stability, ensuring a good long-term reactivity of the material.
Apart from their application in solar-to-chemical energy conversion, the authors also see great potential for the CN aerogels in fields such as separation and sensing.
More details: Honghui Ou et al. Carbon Nitride Aerogels for the Photoredox Conversion of Water, Angewandte Chemie (2017). DOI: 10.1002/ange.201705926. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201705926/abstract
Read more at: https://www.analytik-news.de/Presse/2017/480.html
