Li, Xiaobo, Ivan V. Sergeyev, Fabien Aussenac, Anthony F. Masters, Thomas Maschmeyer, and James M. Hook. “Dynamic Nuclear Polarization NMR Spectroscopy of Polymeric Carbon Nitride Photocatalysts: Insights into Structural Defects and Reactivity.” Angewandte Chemie International Edition, May 8, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201802278.
Metal-free polymeric carbon nitrides (PCNs) are promising photocatalysts for solar hydrogen production, but their structurephotoactivity relationship remains elusive. Here, we characterize two PCNs by dynamic nuclear polarization-enhanced solid-state NMR spectroscopy, that circumvents the need for specific labeling with either 13C- or 15N-enriched precursors. This allows rapid 1-D and 2-D data acquisition, providing insights into the structural contrasts of the PCNs. Compared to PCN_B with lower performance, PCN_P, the porous and more active photocatalyst, is richer in terminal Nhydrogens not associated with inter-polymer chains, which are further proposed to act as efficient carrier traps and reaction sites.