Visible-light photochemical activity of nanoporous carbons under monochromatic light.

By using monochromatic light the ability of semiconductor-free nanoporous carbons to convert the low-energy photons from the visible spectrum into chemical reactions (i.e. phenol photooxidation) is demonstrated. Data shows that the onset wavelength of the photochemical activity can be tuned by surface functionalization, with enhanced visible-light conversion upon introducing N-containing groups.