Graphitic carbon nitride with S and O codoping for enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) shows great possibility to enhance its visible light photocatalytic performance by tuning its electronic structure and band gap via nonmetal element doping. S and O codoped g-C3N4 is synthesized by the polymerization of melamine and H2O2 bonded trithiocyanuric acid (TCA) at an elevated temperature and characterized as crimped nanosheets with mesoporous structures. The photocatalytic performance of S-O codoped g-C3N4 for RhB degradation increases 6 fold by enhancing visible light adsorption and decreasing its band gap compared to pristine g-C3N4 nanosheets. The substitution of the edge N with S and O dopant causes much more strongly delocalized HOMO and LUMO and increases the number of reactive sites, facilitating the migration of photogenerated electron/hole pairs.