Accelerating interlayer charge transport of alkali metal-intercalated carbon nitride for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Adjusting the interlayer structure of carbon nitride is expected to adjust its physicochemical properties, thereby enhancing photocatalytic activity. In this paper, alkaline metal ion-intercalated carbon nitride was prepared by molten salt co-pyrolysis. Alkali metal ions acted as mediators to provide a new migration path for the photogenerated electrons of g-C₃N₄. The intercalation of K⁺ and Na⁺ reduced the bandgap value of carbon nitride, expanded the visible light absorption range, and promoted the separation and migration of charge carriers. As a result, the hydrogen production rate of DCN1 reached 500 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, which was 10 times than that of pristine g-C₃N₄. Experimental and theoretical methods were used to explain the improvement of photocatalytic efficiency after K⁺ and Na⁺ were intercalated into the interlayer of g-C₃N₄. Our work provided a new idea for the design of high-efficiency hydrogen evolution photocatalysts via intercalation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]