Structural engineering and nitrogen doping of graphitic carbon nitride for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants under visible light
Hongjie Lin, Ke Xu, Wenhua Chen, Cun‐Jiong Fang, Pengju Liu
Abstract
The ultrathin and porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets with structural design and abundant nitrogen dopants were synthesized via a one-step calcination procedure. The exfoliated and doped g-C3N4 (NT-CN) displayed enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of hydrochloride tetracycline and rhodamine B degradation in the complex water matrixes with different pH values or even in the presence of various anions (Cl−, CO2–3, NO- 3, and SO2–4). N-doped porous structure provided an extremely high surface area and enhanced basicity, enabling NT-CN catalyst to adsorb the abundant active species and pollutants. Moreover, NT-CN exhibited a wide band gap with a strong negative CB minimum of −1.07 eV that facilitated the formation of more photoexcited electrons. During the reaction process, the generated electrons reacted with dissolved O2 to produce the ·O2− species, and then transformed into highly reactive and stable 1O2 species, which play a predominant role in eliminating pollutants.