Metal-Free C<sub>60</sub>-Doped Mesoporous Carbon Nitride Drives Red-Light Photocatalysis
Peng Wang, Shuai Wei, Yanling Han, Suning Lin, Lijuan Zhang, Qian Li, Yan Xu, Lulu Lian, Yingmei Zhou, Ming Song, Wenchang Zhuang, Yuanyuan Liu
Abstract
The pursuit of novel strategies for synthesizing high-performance nanostructures of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) has garnered increasing scholarly attention in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, we have successfully designed a metal-free photocatalyst by integrating mesoporous carbon nitride (mpg-C 3 N 4 ) and C 60 through a straightforward and innovative method, marking the first instance of such an achievement. Under red light, the C 60 /mpg-C 3 N 4 composite exhibited a significantly accelerated rhodamine B (RhB) photodecomposition rate, surpassing bulk g-C 3 N 4 by more than 25.8 times and outperforming pure mpg-C 3 N 4 by 7.8 times. The synergistic effect of C 60 and the mesoporous structure significantly enhanced the photocatalytic performance of g-C 3 N 4 by adjusting its electronic structure, broadening the light absorption range, increasing the active sites, and reducing the recombination of photogenerated carriers. This work presents a promising avenue for harnessing a metal-free, stable, efficient photocatalyst driven by red light, with potential for enhancing solar energy utilization in environmental remediation.