image: Outline illustration of this review on g-C3N4 nanosheets nanoarchitectonics in photocatalytic H2O2 production.
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Credit: ©Xiao Zhang, San Ping Jiang
Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizing agent with a variety of applications in both industrial and household settings. Researchers are working on developing better and better ways to produce H2O2, such as photocatalytic H2O2 evolution techniques, which are more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The reaction simply uses energy from the sun, water and oxygen to make H2O2. Another key player – the focus of a recent review by researchers at Tohoku University – is a catalyst to speed up this reaction called graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). The research team took a deep dive into g-C3N4 to highlight not just what this catalyst does during the photocatalytic H2O2 evolution reaction, but how it is made in the first place.
This review study is one of the first that focuses on the “nanoarchitectonics” of g-C3N4, which is when you construct a material by organizing building blocks at the nanoscale level – like deciding the position of every single brick in your dream home’s architecture. This level of precision is the key to achieving physical and chemical properties that could allow this catalyst’s production to be scaled-up from being confined to laboratory research to big industrial and commercial applications.
“Recent reviews have discussed fabrication methods, challenges, and perspectives for g-C3N4 materials used in H2O2 generation, but a comprehensive review specifically addressing the recent advancements in nanoarchitectonics of layered g-C3N4 for photocatalytic H2O2 generation was still needed,” says Xiao Zhang (Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University).
Using heterostructure design, g-C3N4 has the potential to produce H2O2 cleanly and efficiently. Additionally, the review covers other potential strategies to make the most out of g-C3N4 such as defect engineering strategies, the effect of metal doping, semiconductor heterostructure construction, and more. This research underlines important bottlenecks that need to be overcome in order to make largescale industrial production a reality.
The findings were published in Coordination Chemistry Reviews on March 28, 2026.
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Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR)
Tohoku University
Establishing a World-Leading Research Center for Materials Science
AIMR aims to contribute to society through its actions as a world-leading research center for materials science and push the boundaries of research frontiers. To this end, the institute gathers excellent researchers in the fields of physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and mathematics and provides a world-class research environment.
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Journal
Coordination Chemistry Reviews
DOI
10.1016/j.ccr.2026.217889
Article Title
Recent advances in g-C3N4 nanoarchitectonics for efficient photocatalytic H2O2 evolution
Article Publication Date
28-Mar-2026
Media Contact
Public Relations
Tohoku University
Journal
Coordination Chemistry Reviews
DOI
10.1016/j.ccr.2026.217889
Journal
Coordination Chemistry Reviews
DOI
10.1016/j.ccr.2026.217889
Article Title
Recent advances in g-C3N4 nanoarchitectonics for efficient photocatalytic H2O2 evolution
Article Publication Date
28-Mar-2026
Tags
/Applied sciences and engineering/Engineering/Electrical engineering/Electronics/Electrical conductors/Semiconductors/Heterostructures
/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical physics/Photochemistry/Photochemical reactions/Photocatalysis
/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical processes/Chemical reactions/Organic reactions/Catalysis
/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Electrochemistry/Water oxidation
/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Electrochemistry
/Physical sciences/Materials science
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Keywords
Tags: advanced photocatalytic materialsenvironmentally friendly oxidizing agentsg-C3N4 nanosheets photocatalystindustrial applications of H₂O₂nanoarchitectonics in catalysisnanoscale engineering of catalystsphotocatalytic hydrogen peroxide productionprecise nanoscale catalyst designsolar-driven catalytic reactionssustainable H2O2 synthesisTohoku University catalyst researchwater and oxygen photocatalysis
