Understanding the Surface of g-C3N4, an Experimental Investigation of the Catalytic Active Site on the Interface

Abstract

g-C3N4 has shown poor photocatalytic activity without co-catalyst. Studies on the chemical and physical properties of the g-C3N4 surface can help to understand the way how co-catalyst species interact with g-C3N4. To identify the role of the surface NH2 group in the formation of heterojunction photo-catalysts, g-C3N4/Melem was functionalized by different alkyl groups and characterized systematically by NMR, IR, UV–Vis, XPS and TEM. The surface alkyl groups affected the coordination of the Pt ion with the surface, and a significant photo-catalysis activity decrease was observed in turn. The results disclosed that the terminal NH2 played an important role in the formation of the co-catalyst heterojunctions and the surface catalysis active sites, and provided experimental evidence to understand the reaction mechanism.