One‐step simple green method to prepare carbon‐doped graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets for boosting visible‐light photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Abstract

BACKGROUND Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) is a rising star amongst semiconductor photocatalysts. However, rapid recombination of electron–hole pairs and poor visible‐light absorption seriously limit its practical applications in photocatalysis. RESULTS A carbon (C)‐doped g‐C3N4 (C‐CN) photocatalyst was prepared by a simple one‐step thermal polymerization for the degradation of high‐concentration tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. In particular, the C‐CN‐5 sample had the best TC (30 mg L–1) degradation effect, reaching 77% within 60 min. CONCLUSION The photocatalytic performance of C‐CN was enhanced for two main reasons: (i) the doping of C enhances the visible light absorption capacity of g‐C3N4 and (ii) introduction of C promotes higher charge separation efficiency of g‐C3N4. In addition, the reduced toxicity of degraded products of TC over as‐prepared C‐CN photocatalyst was confirmed by a bean sprout cultivation experiment. This work provides a useful design idea for the synthesis of C‐doped g‐C3N4 through a simple and green route. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

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