Synthesis of reduced carbon nitride at the reduction by hydroquinone of water-soluble carbon nitride oxide (g-C3N4)O

•First the reduced carbon nitride (RCN) at the reduction of the carbon nitride oxide was obtained.•Water-soluble carbon nitride oxide was reduced by hydroquinone.•The chemical bonds in a heteroatomic plane of RCN correspond to the bonds in a synthesized g-C3N4.•Reduced carbon nitride consists of poorly connected heteroatomic azagraphene layers.

For the first time at the reduction by hydroquinone of water-soluble carbon nitride oxide (g-C3N4)O reduced carbon nitride (or reduced multi-layer azagraphene) is obtained. It is differed from usually synthesized carbon nitride by a significantly large (on 0.09 nm) interplanar distance is. At the same time, the chemical bonds between atoms in a heteroatomic plane of reduced carbon nitride correspond to the bonds in a synthesized g-C3N4. The samples of water-soluble carbon nitride oxide were synthesized under the special reactionary conditions of a pyrolysis of melamine and urea. We believe that reduced carbon nitride consists of weakly connected carbon-nitrogen monosheets (azagraphene sheets) as well as reduced (from graphene oxide) graphene contains weakly connected graphene sheets.

Graphical abstractXRD pattern and schematic atomic model of one layer of reduced carbon nitride, carbon nitride oxide and synthesized carbon nitride. For the first time at the reduction by hydroquinone of the water-soluble carbon nitride oxide (g-C3N4)O is obtained the reduced carbon nitride (or reduced multi-layer azagraphene).Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide