Hydrogen production using g-C3N4 based photocatalysts: A review

Photocatalytic H2 production is a promising technique to produce green energy by using sunlight, and helpful to resolve the energy crisis and environmental issues. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is an emerging metal-free photocatalyst, easy to synthesize by earth-abundant materials and able to work in the visible light region. g-C3N4 exhibits multidimensional nanostructures and has been widely studied in recent years for H2 production due to its unique electronic properties, large surface area, suitable bandgap, and exceptional physicochemical and optical properties. Different strategies have been used to enhance the H2 yield, such as morphology modification, tuning bandgap, defect engineering, heterojunction construction, and making composites with materials. This review comprehensively elaborated the various synthesis techniques, properties of material, Z-Scheme heterostructures, and factors affecting on photocatalytic H2 production. This review also summarizes the advancements in the g-C3N4-based composites and methodologies of photocatalytic water splitting. Conclusively, future recommendations on the challenges provide a new direction to design g-C3N4-based photocatalysts for energy and environmental applications.