Formable Optoelectronic Functional Composites with Potassium Poly(heptazine imide)

Potassium poly(heptazine imide) (K-PHI) is a two-dimensional carbon nitride polymer that has recently attracted attention as a visible-light-driven photocatalyst. We developed a solid material that does not require a liquid electrolyte as a composite of K-PHI with an ionic liquid or insulating polymer matrix. The obtained K-PHI composites retained some of the unique optoelectronic properties of K-PHI and were in a semisolid state that could be easily shaped in a warm state. Simple devices using these K-PHI composites exhibited photoconductivity by the ionic conduction of potassium cations activated by white light irradiation.