Preparation of carbon nitride materials by polycondensation of the single-source precursor aminodichlorotriazine (ADCT)

Carbon nitride, usually described as C3N4 or CNx (x > 1), has been reported to form disordered network structures. In this work we describe a new synthesis route using 2-amino-4,6-dichloro-s-triazine (ADCT) as a single-source precursor, adopting single step and two step decompositions. During two step polycondensation ADCT is first heated in a closed system and than fully condensed under vacuum. Our reactions yielded carbon nitride materials having compositions near C3N4. The obtained carbon nitride occurs as a brown, amorphous solid according to X-ray and electron diffraction experiments. Moreover, infrared spectra and results from 13C-NMR measurements indicate evidence for the presence of bridged heptazine and triazine units in the structure.