Facile construction of porous C-PDA@CN-ms core-shell heterostructures with superior photocatalytic H2 evolution.

Building carbon nitride (CN)-based core shell heterostructures is an effective strategy to enhance the photocatalytic performance and stability by optimize the interface area and protect the CN core, respectively. Moreover, by fabricating the porous structures in core shells can further optimize the light absorption, charge separation, and mass transfer. Herein, we have constructed porous C-PDA–CN–ms core-shell heterostructures through a facile green molten salt (ms) sculpture the polydopamine (PDA) derived carbon (C-PDA) shells with CN core. In which, the C-PDA-CN core-shells arise from in situ polymerization of dopamine (DA) on the surface of melamine to form PDA@melamine coatings followed by thermal polycondensation. The molten salts at high-temperature act as a green fluid immersing in and out of C-PDA-CN core-shells to further produce porous structures. The 1 wt% C-PDA–CN–ms with porous core-shell structures display photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate of 3830 μmol h−1 g−1, which is 20.8 times enhancement of 1 wt% C-PDA-CN core-shells, even 73.6 times higher than that of pristine CN. It reveals that the porous and core-shell heterostructures endow C-PDA–CN–ms enhanced light absorption, various charge transport channels for improved charge carrier separation and transfer, contributing to the superior photocatalytic H 2 evolution performance. Our work opens a new window for the green construction of porous core-shell heterostructures of CN-based photocatalysts. The porous C-PDA–CN–ms core-shells have been developed through a green molten salt sculpture approach, which promotes light absorption and charge carrier transfer for efficient photocatalytic H 2 evolution. [Display omitted] • Porous C-PDA/CN-ms core-shells are constructed by a molten salt sculpture approach. • Molten salt fluid sculpture C-PDA-CN core-shells to produce porous structures. • The porous C-PDA–CN–ms core-shells exhibit superior photocatalyticperformance. • The optimized photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate is 3830 μmol h−1 g−1, with a AQE of 39.6% at 420 nm. • The porous core-shells endow CN improved light absorption and charge separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]