Enhanced the Synergistic Effect of Tetracycline Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation on a Mesoporous Carbon Nitride

A mesoporous g-C 3 N 4 with guanidine hydrochloride as precursor was prepared by molten salt assisted hard template of silica (SiO 2 ) aerogel for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC). The study shows that the successfully synthesized mesoporous g-C 3 N 4 presented a coral-like rod shaped and heptazine ring structure. When the amount of SiO 2 aerogel template was 1.4 g, the lower band gap (2.31 eV) of the sample (GM-1.4) with the lower interfacial resistance was displayed. The photocatalytic degradation rate of GM-1.4 for TC reached to 100% under visible illumination for 210 min, and the degradation efficiency of TC was enhanced with the synergistic effect of adsorption. Furthermore, the rich porous structure provided more active sites, boosted the separation and transfer of photoexcited charge carriers, and then enhanced the production of main active species · O 2 − and h + , resulting in the efficient destruction of the intrinsic structure and functional groups of TC molecules.