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Triazine‐Based Graphitic Carbon Nitride: a Two‐Dimensional Semiconductor
Author(s) -
AlgaraSiller Gerardo,
Severin Nikolai,
Chong Samantha Y.,
Björkman Torbjörn,
Palgrave Robert G.,
Laybourn Andrea,
Antonietti Markus,
Khimyak Yaroslav Z.,
Krasheninnikov Arkady V.,
Rabe Jürgen P.,
Kaiser Ute,
Cooper Andrew I.,
Thomas Arne,
Bojdys Michael J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201402191
Subject(s) - carbon nitride , materials science , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , graphitic carbon nitride , band gap , semiconductor , carbon fibers , nitride , thin film , spectroscopy , optoelectronics , graphite , triazine , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , chemistry , composite number , organic chemistry , photocatalysis , composite material , physics , layer (electronics) , quantum mechanics , engineering , catalysis , polymer chemistry
Graphitic carbon nitride has been predicted to be structurally analogous to carbon‐only graphite, yet with an inherent bandgap. We have grown, for the first time, macroscopically large crystalline thin films of triazine‐based, graphitic carbon nitride (TGCN) using an ionothermal, interfacial reaction starting with the abundant monomer dicyandiamide. The films consist of stacked, two‐dimensional (2D) crystals between a few and several hundreds of atomic layers in thickness. Scanning force and transmission electron microscopy show long‐range, in‐plane order, while optical spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations corroborate a direct bandgap between 1.6 and 2.0 eV. Thus TGCN is of interest for electronic devices, such as field‐effect transistors and light‐emitting diodes.