Enhanced single-electron transfer for efficiently photocatalytic H2O2 production over g-C3N4 decorated with TEMPO-oxidized cellulosic carbon

Designing efficient semiconductors for photocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) without sacrificial agent is an urgent challenge for H 2 O 2 production under ambient condition. Graphite carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) exhibits controllable regulation in band structure and light absorption for photocatalytic process. However, the photocatalytic H 2 O 2 synthesis by pristine g-C 3 N 4 is poor due to the fast recombination of photogenerated carriers and unfavorable selectivity of ORR. To enhance the photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production, different types of carbon can use in combination with g-C 3 N 4 . In the present work, we show how cellulose fiber from bamboo can lead to hybrid C/ g-C 3 N 4 photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic activity and H 2 O 2 production rate of 121.75 μmol·L −1 ·h −1 , which is 6.2-fold higher than that of pure g-C 3 N 4 without any sacrificial agent. The experimental results confirmed that TEMPO-cellulose derived hydrophilic carbon can not only accelerate the transfer of photo-generated electrons as well as efficient charge carrier separation, but also promote the sequential two-step single-electron ORR route. Thus, this work provides a pioneering perspective for tuning the electronic interaction between g-C 3 N 4 and cellulosic carbon for enhanced photocatalytic H 2 O 2 synthesis.