Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
Significant Enhancement of Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution by Structure Regulation of Carbon Nitrides
Qing Han1, Zhihua Cheng1, Bing Wang1
1Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic/Eletrophotonic Conversion Materials, Key Laboratory of Cluster Science, Ministry of Education of China, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081 , P. R. China.
Abstract:
Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution by utilizing solar energy has a great significance for high-density solar energy storage and environmental sustainability. Here, a defect-rich amorphous carbon nitride (DACN) photocatalyst has been synthesized by simply direct calcination of the rationally size-reduced urea crystals. The introduction of nitrogen vacancies combined with disordered structure cause a broad visible-light-reponsive range, countless lateral edge/exposed surface bonding sites, and quenched radiative recombination, suggesting that this DACN enhances photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production. A record high hydrogen evolution rate of 37,680 μmol h-1 g-1 under visible-light irradiation and an extraordinary apparent quantum efficiency of 34.4% at 400 nm were achieved, higher than most of the existing graphitic carbon nitride-based photocatalysts.
Related Concept Videos
The Evidence for Evolution
Chromatin Structure Regulates pre-mRNA Processing
The chromatin structure, especially...
Convergent Evolution
Hydrogen Bonds
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....
Hydrogen Bonds
Carbon Skeletons

