Synthesis and characterization of Cu-doped polymeric carbon nitride

The material is a semiconductor with a wide band gap of 2.74 eV. Sites of both Cu(I) and Cu(II) were detected, apparently only coordinated by the polymer.

The material comprises crumpled nanosheets, and is substantially an amorphous layered material with a prevalent 2D structure with low inter-planar interactions, as shown by X-ray diffractometry and TeraHertz spectroscopy. Photo-oxidation of benzyl alcohol was used to probe the active sites of the material, comparing them with the non-doped material. The higher activity and selectivity toward salicylic alcohol of the non-doped material can be due to both a more localized electron transfer and a longer lifetime of the hole–electron pair.