Photo-activated piezoelectric-catalyzed hydrogen peroxide production in pure water by carbon-modified graphitic carbon nitride

Abstract

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production from pure water is a safe and environmentally sustainable synthesis strategy, which can effectively avoid the increase in energy consumption and environmental damage caused by complex processes. Herein, carbon-doped graphitic carbon nitride (C-GCN) was synthesized using a simple one-step thermal polymerization method with glucose as the carbon source for constructing a photo-activated piezoelectric catalytic system, enabling efficient H₂O₂ production (56.1 μM/h) from pure water without adding any sacrifice agents. Specifically, the introduction of carbon atoms that replace the nitrogen atoms in the nitrogen-doped carbon network forms an asymmetric structure, enhances the in-plane piezoelectricity of C-GCN. Furthermore, carbon doping also improves the light absorption of C-GCN, and under the synergistic effect of polarized charges, there is an explosive acceleration in the separation and migration efficiency of photo-generated charge carriers. This research provides a simple modified route and promising idea for designing efficient GCN-based catalyst for simultaneously enhancing both the piezoelectric catalytic and photocatalytic capabilities.