In situ growth of graphitic carbon nitride films on transparent conducting substrates via a solvothermal route for photoelectrochemical performance

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) is a promising metal-free polymeric photocatalyst with a visible light response, but current technologies fail to obtain high quality films for photoelectric devices. Herein, an efficient solvothermal strategy has been developed to prepare continuous and complete graphitic carbon nitride films. The resulting films exhibit a remarkable enhancement in photoelectrochemical performance, much superior to the thermal condensation g-C₃N₄ films. This is attributed to the red-shift of visible light absorption and the improvement of charge separation and transport. Importantly, the general, efficient and one-step wet-chemical strategy opens up new possibilities for carbon nitride in photoelectric devices based on renewable solar energy applications.