In the past decade, research in the field of artificial photosynthesis has shifted from simple, inorganic semiconductors to more abundant, polymeric materials. For example, polymeric carbon nitrides have emerged as promising materials for metal-free semiconductors and metal-free photocatalysts. Polymeric carbon nitride (melon) and related carbon nitride materials are desirable alternatives to industrially used catalysts because they are easily synthesized from abundant and inexpensive starting materials. Furthermore, these materials are chemically benign because they do not contain heavy metal ions, thereby facilitating handling and disposal. In this Review, we discuss the building blocks of carbon nitride materials and examine how strategies in synthesis, templating and post-processing translate from the molecular level to macroscopic properties, such as optical and electronic bandgap. Applications of carbon nitride materials in bulk heterojunctions, laser-patterned memory devices and energy storage devices indicate that photocatalytic overall water splitting on an industrial scale may be realized in the near future and reveal a new avenue of ‘post-silicon electronics’.

在过去的十年中，人工光合作用领域的研究已经从简单的无机半导体转变为更丰富的聚合物材料。例如，聚合碳氮化物已经成为无金属半导体和无金属光催化剂的有前途的材料。聚合的氮化碳（瓜）和相关的氮化碳材料是工业上使用的催化剂的理想替代品，因为它们易于从丰富而廉价的原料中合成。此外，这些材料在化学上是无害的，因为它们不包含重金属离子，从而有利于处理和处置。在这篇评论中，我们讨论了氮化碳材料的基本组成部分，并研究了合成，模板化和后处理中的策略如何从分子水平转变为宏观特性，例如光学和电子带隙。氮化碳材料在块状异质结，激光图案存储设备和能量存储设备中的应用表明，在不久的将来可能实现工业规模的光催化总水分解，并揭示了“后硅电子学”的新途径。