Enhanced Photocatalytic\nHydrogen Peroxide Synthesis\nPerformance of Polymeric Carbon Nitrides with a Controllable Carbonization\nStrategy

Polymeric carbon nitrides have gained significant interest\nin photocatalysis\nowing to their tunable electronic and structural diversity. However,\ntraditional polymeric carbon nitrides, regardless of their structural\nmotifs, have shown limited or no effectiveness in producing H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> through photocatalysis. This study introduces\na controllable carbonization technique assisted by post molten salt\ntreatment, as demonstrated across three structurally distinct\npolymeric carbon nitrides: melon and two ionic variants. Through the\nmolten salt treatment, the photoactivities for H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> synthesis were significantly enhanced on all three carbon\nnitride variants. The enhanced activity is attributed to the precise\ncontrol of the carbonization process, resulting in the formation of\na composite material comprising carbon and carbon nitride. The formation\nof this composite material not only improves charge separation but\nalso imparts hydrophobic properties to the material, thereby preventing\nthe decomposition of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> synthesized under\nphotocatalytic conditions.