Preparation of conducting polymer polyaniline/g-C ₃ N ₄ heterojunction for enhanced CO ₂ photoreduction into fuel

The g-C 3 N 4 /polymer polyaniline (g-C 3 N 4 /PANI) is synthesized using constructing heterojunction strategy for CH 3 OH production by CO 2 photoreduction. The CO 2 photoreduction performance for CH 3 OH production of g-C 3 N 4 /PANI was investigated by regulating PANI content. The construction of the heterojunction effectively promotes the separation of photogenerated carriers with a high charge transfer rate, contributing to CO 2 photoreduction. Besides, the incorporation of the PANI layer enhances electron transfer efficiency and improves CO 2 adsorption capacity. The g-C 3 N 4 /PANI also exhibits good selectivity for CH 3 OH production, with a selectivity of 95.26%. The g-C 3 N 4 /PANI still maintains excellent CO 2 photoreduction activity after cycles. The mechanism of the CH 3 OH production from CO 2 photoreduction is analyzed through the energy band structure.