The preparation of spherical mesoporous g-C3N4 with highly improved photocatalytic performance for H2 production and rhodamine B degradation

Spherical mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was successfully prepared through spherical mesoporous silica as sacrificial templates, and analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer, N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, BET, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra and photoluminescence spectra. Experimental results indicated that as-prepared g-C3N4 exhibited spherical morphology with high surface area due to the introduced porous structure, which made the as-prepared g-C3N4 possess much higher activity than the bulk g-C3N4 for producing H-2 and decomposing rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light, and it also kept excellent recycling activity. Hence, this investigation provided a simple strategy for the fabrication of porous special morphology graphitic carbon nitride with excellent photocatalytic activity.