Dissolution and liquid crystals phase of 2D polymeric carbon nitride

Abstract

Graphite-phase polymeric carbon nitride (GPPCN) has emerged as a promising metal-free material toward optoelectronics and (photo)catalysis. However, the insolubility of GPPCN remains one of the biggest impediments toward its potential applications. Herein, we report that GPPCN could be dissolved in concentrated sulfuric acid, the first feasible solvent so far, due to the synergistic protonation and intercalation. The concentration was up to 300 mg/mL, thousands of time higher than previous reported dispersions. As a result, the first successful liquid-state NMR spectra of GPPCN were obtained, which provides a more feasible method to reveal the finer structure of GPPCN. Moreover, at high concentration, a liquid crystal phase for the carbon nitride family was first observed. The successful dissolution of GPPCN and the formation of highly anisotropic mesophases would greatly pave the potential applications such as GPPCN-based nanocomposites or assembly of marcroscopic, ordered materials.