Water-assisted ions in situ intercalation for porous polymeric graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets with superior photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance

•Porous polymeric graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets were obtained by ithium chloride ions in situ intercalating bulk materials in polycondensation process and followed by liquid exfoliation in water.•The nanosheets with 2–3 nm in thickness and high density in-plane pore with 2–3 nm diameters, which exhibit superior photocatalytic efficiency for hydrogen evolution and enhanced photocurrent responses in comparison of bulk materials.•Compared to bulk materials, nanosheets possess a higher surface area (186.3 m2 g−1), high density mespores with 2–3 nm diameter, enlarged bandgap (by 0.16 eV), prolonged charge carrier lifetime, improved electronic transport ability, increased charge carrier density and enhanced photocurrent responses, which make great contributions to the improvement of photocatalysis.

Two-dimension layered polymeric carbon nitride possessing unique electronic structure and high specific surface area exhibits immense potentials for visible light driven photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production by the decomposition of water molecules. Herein, porous polymeric carbon nitride nanosheets were obtained by lithium chloride ions in situ intercalating bulk materials in thermal polycondensation process and followed by liquid exfoliation in water. The porous nanosheets show two-dimension layered structure with the thickness of 2–3 nm, a high density in-plane pores with 2–3 nm diameter, a higher surface area (186.3 m2 g−1), enlarged bandgap (by 0.16 eV), prolonged charge carrier lifetime, enhanced electronic transport ability, increased charge carrier density and improved photocurrent responses, which could significantly give rise to photocatalytic activity. The results highlight the crucial role of 2D porous structure, high specific surface area and unique electronic structure on the photocatalytic performance of polymeric carbon nitride materials.

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