Polyethyleneimine-induced in-situ chemical epitaxial growth ultrathin 2D/2D graphene carbon nitride intralayer heterojunction with elevating photocatalytic activity: Performances and mechanism insight

Abstract

Integrating 2D carbon nitride (CN) photocatalyst with 2D graphene into a lateral heterojunction can decrease energy loss within interlayer space, which is an intriguing strategy for tailoring photocatalyst for energy and environmental applications. Herein, a polyethyleneimine (PEI) induced in-situ chemical epitaxial growth strategy was adopted to tailor graphene-oxide CN (GO-CN) intralayer heterostructure photocatalyst, where PEI was served as chemical inducer and crosslinker to construct polymerization precursor, and a one-pot self-assembly followed in-situ thermal-polymerization and thermal-etching method was conducted. Series characterizations manifest the successful construction of ultrathin 2D-2D GO-CN intralayer heterostructure, which possesses ameliorated specific surface area, visible-light harvest and charge behaviors. Quench tests, ESR and LC-MS explored photodegradation active species, intermediate and route, while online FTIR real-time and in-situ monitor the variation of functional groups. In the end, DFT theoretical analysis further affirm the charge transfer between GO and CN, and unveil conceivable elevated mechanism.