A Unique, Porous C3N4 Nanotube for Electrochemiluminescence with High Emission Intensity and Long-Term Stability: The Role of Calcination Atmosphere

Developing excellent strategies to optimize the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) performance of C3N4materials remains a challenge due to the electrode passivation, causing weak and unstable light emission. A strategy of controlling the calcination atmosphere was proposed to improve the ECL performance of C3N4nanotubes. Interestingly, we found that calcination atmosphere played a key role in specific surface area, pore-size and crystallinity of C3N4nanotubes. The C3N4nanotubes prepared in the Air atmosphere (C3N4NT-Air) possess a larger specific surface area, smaller pore-size and better crystallinity, which is crucial to improve ECL properties. Therefore, more C3N4•−excitons could be produced on C3N4NT-Air, reacting with the SO4•−during the electrochemical reaction, which can greatly increase the ECL signal. Furthermore, when C3N4nanotube/K2S2O8system is proposed as a sensing platform, it offers a high sensitivity, and good selectivity for the detection of Cu2+, with a wide linear range of 0.25 nM~1000 nM and a low detection limit of 0.08 nM.Keywords:electrochemiluminescence;C3N4nanotube;Cu2+detection