The development of hydrogen energy is crucial for achieving global dual-carbon strategic goals, namely "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality." Photocatalytic water splitting, powered by solar energy, presents a promising approach to hydrogen production. Advancing this technology requires the development of photocatalysts that are cost-effective, highly active, and stable. As a non-metallic semiconductor, g-C3N4 stands out for its potential in sustainable energy and environmental remediation technologies, garnering considerable interest for its efficiency in harnessing light-driven reactions. Although g-C3N4 exhibits promising characteristics, its practical application is significantly hindered by the rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers and its limited light absorption range. This review highlights various strategies employed to improve the photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency of g-C3N4, including heteroatom doping, microstructure control, co-catalyst modification, defect engineering, and heterojunction construction. These strategies enhance active site density, light absorption capacity, and photogenerated charge separation in g-C3N4, thereby boosting electron migration rates and improving photocatalytic hydrogen production. Additionally, we explore the potential of integrating cutting-edge AI technology with advanced instrumentation for the prediction, design, preparation, and in-situ characterization of g-C3N4-based photocatalytic systems. This review aims to offer key insights into the design, development, and practical application of innovative, high-performance carbon-based catalysts.

Advance in the modification of g-C3N4-based composite for photocatalytic H2 production
    Abstract
    1 Introduction
    2 Process and principle of photocatalytic H2 production
    3 Structure and properties of g-C3N4
    4 Regulation of photocatalytic H2 production performance of g-C3N4
        4.1 Heteroatom doping
        4.2 Microscopic morphology control
        4.3 Co-catalyst modification
        4.4 Defective engineering
        4.5 Construction of g-C3N4-based heterojunction
    5 Summary and outlook
    Acknowledgements 
    References

• Jizhou Jiang(School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering Process of Ministry of Education, Engineering Research Center of Phosphorus Resources Development and Utilization of Ministry of Education, Novel Catalytic Materials of Hubei Engineering Research Center, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, People’s Republic of China) Corresponding author
• Lianglang Yu(School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering Process of Ministry of Education, Engineering Research Center of Phosphorus Resources Development and Utilization of Ministry of Education, Novel Catalytic Materials of Hubei Engineering Research Center, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, People’s Republic of China)
• Jiahe Peng(School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering Process of Ministry of Education, Engineering Research Center of Phosphorus Resources Development and Utilization of Ministry of Education, Novel Catalytic Materials of Hubei Engineering Research Center, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, People’s Republic of China)
• Wei Sun(School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering Process of Ministry of Education, Engineering Research Center of Phosphorus Resources Development and Utilization of Ministry of Education, Novel Catalytic Materials of Hubei Engineering Research Center, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, People’s Republic of China)
• Weiping Gong(Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Electronic Functional Materials and Devices, Huizhou University, Huizhou 516007, People’s Republic of China)