Graphitic carbon-nitrides are a niche group of semiconductive materials which exhibit the phenomena of photocatalysis by the influence of photons. With promising applications in biodegradation and pollution clean-up, photocatalysis is a prevalent topic in modern chemical research. This project aims to provide insight to the function, effectiveness, and future of carbon-nitride photocatalysts, as well as to explore the effects of doping such materials which have auspicious functions in the present day and the near future. This project studies, documents and compares three carbon-nitride based photocatalysts with a focus on the relative yields obtained under identical reaction conditions.
The carbon-nitride photocatalysts were synthesised successfully, and two of these materials were doped with oxygen and sulphur, respectively. These photocatalytic materials were characterised via UV-Vis and IR spectroscopy in their as-obtained states, before being used to catalyse the aerobic oxidation of 4-methylbenzyl alcohol. The resultant solution was characterised via 1H NMR before final analysis to determine reaction yields.
This study reports that, concerning the aerobic oxidation of 4-methylbenzyl alcohol, oxygen-doped carbon nitride produces the greatest yield, while sulphur-doped carbon nitride produces the poorest yield. This is concordant with the determined values of band-gap energies of these semiconductors whereby O-CNX possesses the largest band-gap and S-CNX the smallest. We conclude that further investigation should focus on the enhancement and refinement of photocatalysis by graphitic carbon nitrides, working towards large-scale, effective industrial applications.
PLEASE NOTE: You must be a member of the University of Lincoln to be able to view this dissertation. Please log in here.