Sulfur Mediated Self Templating Synthesis of Tapered C PAN/g C3N4 Composite Nanotubes toward Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Evolution
Hollow one dimensional (1 D) nanostructures have drawn great attention in heterogeneous photocatalysis. Herein, we report that tapered polyacrylonitrile derived carbon (C PAN)/g C3N4 composite nanotubes can be synthesized through a facile sulfur mediated self templating method via thermal condensation of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) melamine, and sulfur. The hollow tapered C PAN/g C3N4 composite nanotubes exhibit superior photocatalytic H2 evolution performance under visible light irradiation. The 5 wt C PAN/g C3N4 composite nanotubes show a 16.7 times higher photocatalytic H2 evolution rate than that of pure g C3N4, which is even 4.7 times higher than that of a 5 wt C PAN/g C3N4 nanosheet composite obtained without sulfur. The hollow nanotubular composite structure provides g C3N4 with higher specific surface area, enhanced light absorption, and better charge carrier separation and transfer, which synergistically contribute to the superior photocatalytic activity. Our work provides a new strategy to deve.