Recent advances in g-C3N4-based photocatalysts for reduction of CO2

Abstract

The key to reduce the concentration of CO2 in atmosphere by using the photocatalytic reduction method lies in the development of low-cost, stable, and environmentally friendly photocatalysts. Given that g-C3N4 has the advantages of non-toxic, no metal elements, narrow band gap, good thermal stability and so on, analysis shows that this is a very potential photocatalyst. However, at present, the photocatalytic efficiency of pure g-C3N4 is limited by small specific surface area, low visible-light utilization efficiency and high recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers. In this review, we report the methods for improving photoactivity of the g-C3N4, for instance, loading precious metal cocatalysts, earth-abundant metal cocatalysts and non-metallic cocatalysts. Finally, the issues that should be paid attention to when further studying the photoreactivity of g-C3N4 and its future research directions are discussed.