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

Abstract

Abstract The key to reduce the concentration of CO 2 in atmosphere by using the photocatalytic reduction method lies in the development of low-cost, stable, and environmentally friendly photocatalysts. Given that g-C 3 N 4 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-C 3 N 4 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-C 3 N 4 , 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-C 3 N 4 and its future research directions are discussed.