Graphitic carbon nitride

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is a family of carbon nitride compounds with a general formula near to C3N4 (albeit typically with non-zero amounts of hydrogen) and two major substructures based on heptazine and poly(triazine imide) units which, depending on reaction conditions, exhibit different degrees of condensation, properties and reactivities.

The firstly formed polymeric C3N4 structure, melon, with pendant amino groups, is a highly ordered polymer.

Further reaction leads to more condensed and less defective C3N4 species, based on tri-s-triazine (C6N7) units as elementary building blocks.

[2] Graphitic carbon nitride can also be prepared by electrodeposition on Si(100) substrate from a saturated acetone solution of cyanuric trichloride and melamine (ratio =1: 1.5) at room temperature.

[1] Due to their properties (primarily large, tuneable band gaps and efficient intercalation of salts) graphitic carbon nitrides are under research for a variety of applications:

Comparison of bulk g-C 3 N 4 (left) and nanosheet g-C 3 N 4 powders, 100 mg each. [ 1 ]