Hollow porous carbon nitride nanotubes with efficient photocatalytic H 2 O 2 generation in pure water

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important green oxidant. However, its industrial production remains energy-intensive and environmentally burdensome. Photocatalytic generation of H2O2 from O2 and water under visible-light irradiation is an attractive alternative, yet its efficiency is often limited by sluggish oxygen activation and severe charge recombination. Here, we report a triazine-based graphitic carbon nitride material featuring a hollow, porous nanotube morphology, synthesized via a straightforward, salt-free approach. This method produces a narrow mesopore size distribution without the use of templates or structure-directing agents. The resulting photocatalyst exhibits enhanced visible-light absorption, a high specific surface area, and restricted charge recombination. In comparison with a heptazine-based analogue, the triazine nanotubes exhibit stronger O2 adsorption and a more negative conduction-band potential, thereby facilitating a thermodynamically more favorable reduction of O2 to H2O2. Their electrons are also more reactive due to higher mobility, thus allowing for rapid reaction with O2. Under visible-light irradiation (λ > 390 nm), an H2O2 production rate of 115 μM h-1 is achieved in pure water under O2 flow, without the use of sacrificial reagents and cocatalysts. The triazine sample achieves an AQY of 1% at 420 nm in pure water. Mechanistic investigations indicate that H2O2 formation predominantly proceeds via a superoxide-mediated one-electron oxygen reduction pathway.