Interfacial charge-transfer transitions enhanced photocatalytic activity of TCNAQ/g-C3N4 organic hybrid material

•A highly efficient TCNAQ/g-C3N4 organic hybrid photocatalyst was designed.•There is interfacial charge-transfer transitions between g-C3N4 and TCNAQ.•The TCNAQ/g-C3N4 hybrid exhibited enhanced photo-activity for RhB degradation. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) photocatalyst has a promising application prospect in solving environment problems and energy crisis. In order to improve the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4, a novel TCNAQ/g-C3N4 organic hybrid photocatalyst was designed by introducing 11,11,12,12-tetracyanonaphtho-1,4-quinodimethane (TCNAQ) as an electron acceptor. Due to the interfacial charge-transfer transitions between g-C3N4 donor and TCNAQ acceptor, separation and migration of photo-induced charge carriers were promoted, while their recombination was prohibited, which led to enhanced photocatalytic performance in pollutant degradation. This work provides a strategy to produce efficient hybrid photocatalysts with high light-to-current conversions due to the interfacial charge-transfer transitions, which have potential applications in light-to-energy conversions.