Accelerating NADH oxidation and hydrogen production with mid-gap states of nitrogen-rich carbon nitride photocatalyst

Regeneration of electron carriers such as NAD(+)/NADH is highly desirable and essential for enzymatic conversions. Here, we demonstrate a sustainable strategy for the regeneration of NAD(+) as an electron carrier via photon-assisted heterogeneous catalysis. For this, a mid-gap state induced nitrogen-rich polymeric carbon nitride (NPCN) catalyst was synthesized by an additive-assisted thermal copolymerization. Utilizing NPCN as a photocatalyst presented NADH photooxidation efficiency of over 98% and a high hydrogen production rate of 11.18 mmolg(−1)h(−1) with an apparent quantum yield of 9.16% (λ = 420 nm), outperforming other state-of-art metal-free photocatalysts. The experimental and theoretical simulations suggest that mid-gap states in NPCN catalyst are main platform for charge-carrier separation that enhances the overall photocatalytic performance.