Enhancing biomass oxidation with carbon nitride nanosheets ring inserted on C. I. Pigment Yellow 53 photocatalysts for simultaneous CO and lactic acid production

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2023.146117
• Publication Date: 2023-09-18T16:27:20Z
• Authors: Weikang Ling; Jiliang Ma; Zhendong Liu; Rui Cui; Junqiang Zhang; Xinze Li; Min Hong; Runcang Sun
• Keywords: Photocurrent; Carbon nitride; Carbon fibers

Synchronously producing gas–liquid products from biomass conversion is an effective solution for addressing global energy depletion and environmental pollution. Here, we designed an efficient photocatalyst (CNs@PY53-x) to co-produce CO and lactic acid from biomass-derived sugars. Carbon nitride nanosheets were incorporated onto the surface of PY53 using an ultrasonic-assisted self-assembly coupled with evaporation-drying strategy. The CNs@PY53-x exhibited broader visible light absorption, stronger photocurrent density, and faster separation rate of photogenerated carriers as compared with CNs or PY53. The photocatalytic performance of CNs@PY53-x correlated well with its photoelectric characterization, achieving an CO evolution rate of 371.56 μmol g−1h−1 and a lactic acid yield of 86.9% in the xylose-alkaline system. Furthermore, CNs@PY53-2 demonstrated favorable applicability with various biomass-based sugars. Poisoning experiments, coupled with electron spin resonance (ESR) characterization, revealed that the superoxide radical (radical dotO2−) was the primary oxidation active species during this process. This work presents a new strategy for synchronously producing gas–liquid products during biomass conversion.