Organic microstructure-induced hierarchically porous g-C3N4 photocatalyst

It is necessary to construct hierarchically porous photocatalysts to ensure high light absorption and electrochemical kinetics in photocatalysis. Carbon nitride (g-C3N4) appears to be a favorable choice, especially the tunable hollow micro/nanostructure. However, the facile preparation of g-C3N4 with hierarchical pores still faces challenge. Here, we firstly report a facile preparation of hierarchically porous g-C3N4 with uniform organic microstructure as a soft template. The template is in situ formed in thiourea precursor solution, and its similar p-conjugated structure to g-C3N4 makes it effective in modifying the condensation of g-C3N4. The layer thickness of the as-prepared g-C3N4 is about 3-4 nm. And the resultant g-C3N4 possesses hierarchical meso/macropores with a specific surface area of 27.34 m(2) g(-1) and pore volume of 0.18 cm(3) g(-1), approximately 6.2 and 9.0 times, respectively, higher than that of the unmodified one. This favors the charge/mass transport process, hence rendering the catalyst a 2.4-fold enhancement in photodegrading organic pollutant with H+ and & BULL;O2- as the predominant species. At the same time, the photostability can be guaranteed with only 20% loss of its efficiency after long-term use.

Automated summary

It is reported a facile preparation of hierarchically porous g-C3N4 with uniform organic microstructure as a soft template. The in situ formed template in thiourea precursor solution effectively modifies the condensation of g-C3N4. The resulting g-C3N4 possesses hierarchical meso/macropores with higher surface area and pore volume, resulting in a 2.4-fold enhancement in photodegrading organic pollutant.