Carbon Nitride–Aromatic Diimide–Graphene Nanohybrids: Metal-Free Photocatalysts for Solar-to-Hydrogen Peroxide Energy Conversion with 0.2% Efficiency

Solar-to-chemical energy conversion is a challenging subject for renewable energy storage. In the past 40 years, overall water splitting into H2 and O2 by semiconductor photocatalysis has been studied extensively; however, they need noble metals and extreme care to avoid explosion of the mixed gases. Here we report that generating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from water and O2 by organic semiconductor photocatalysts could provide a new basis for clean energy storage without metal and explosion risk. We found that carbon nitride-aromatic diimide-graphene nanohybrids prepared by simple hydrothermal-calcination procedure produce H2O2 from pure water and O2 under visible light (λ > 420 nm). Photoexcitation of the…

• JS
  Japan Science and Technology Agency
• PR
  Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology