GRAPHITIC CARBON NITRIDE: A FUTURISTIC MATERIAL WITH NASCENT APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The quest for advanced materials with a wide range of applications is never-ending. A plethora of materials have been invented in the recent past to address the emerging needs of the evolving society. Research has been focused on exploring the new possibilities of existing materials and the development of new materials altogether. Many of these materials show unequivocal improvement in their respective fields of application. Along with the multi functionality, ease of synthesis, performance stability and shelf life are also important for the newly developed materials. Graphitic carbon nitride is an attractive 2-D material with a layered structure. The exceptional optical and electronic properties of the material along with chemical stability, ease of production with high yield and long shelf life make graphitic carbon nitride a possible futuristic material with applications ranging from photocatalysis to bioimaging and nano ion transport. Numerous investigations on the photocatalytic applications of graphitic carbon nitride have been reported in the recent literature. It can be chosen as a representative material for visible light photocatalyst analogue to TiO2 in this regard. Strategies to overcome the bottlenecks of graphitic carbon nitride-mediated photocatalysis have gained quite a research momentum in recent years. Strikingly properties like hydrophobicity, electrical conductivity and thermal behaviour remain largely unexplored. Exploring these properties could contribute to a better understanding of the characteristics of the material so that it could be successfully utilized as a multifunctional futuristic material for emerging applications.