Moving Graphitic Carbon Nitride from Electrocatalysis and Photocatalysis to a Potential Electrode Material for Photoelectric Devices

Carbon nitride (g-CN) has attracted significant interest in the last years as a robust, low-cost alternative to metal-based materials in different fields due to its low price, environmentally benign character, simple synthesis and tunable properties. In particular, g-CN demonstrates promising activity in energy-related applications such as photo and heterogeneous catalysis, batteries and electrolysis. However, while g-CN is already well-established as a photocatalyst, its utilization in (opto)electronic devices is still at an early stage. This Focus Review concentrates on the utilization of g-CN in solar and photoelectrochemical cells, electrolyzers and light emitting diode alongside the recap of new synthetic approaches. This review is expected to provide useful insights into the design and fabrication of g-CN based photoelectronic devices as well as g-CN working principles, including the main challenges toward its integration in optoelectronic devices.