Green One-Pot Synthesis of Mesoporous g-C3N4 for Promoted Organic Dyes Photodegradation in Wastewater Treatment

This work provided a green, one-pot route to synthesize mesoporous g-C3N4. A series of characterizations revealed that the mesoporous sample maintained the typical structure of g-C3N4. The findings displayed that this mesoporous material had enlarged porosity and optical properties. The largest SBET of the mesoporous sample (32.65 m2/g) was 4.36 times larger than that of the bulk sample (7.48 m2/g). The photoactivity of the prepared photocatalysts was measured by the photocatalytic removal of rhodamine B (RhB). In agreement with the characterization analysis, the mesoporous g-C3N4 (99.60%) exhibited a 3.88 times better photocatalytic efficiency than that of bulk g-C3N4 (25.63%) and an 11.19 times faster reaction rate in the same period. In addition, the possible mechanism of this photodecomposition reaction was identified by the electron spin resonance (ESR) and trapping tests. The results demonstrated that •O2– and •OH made contributions, and •O2– played a dominant role in this process. This research offers a promising method for the synthesis of mesoporous g-C3N4 in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective route with remarkably high photoactivity.