Unveiling the photocatalytic potential of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4): a state-of-the-art review

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-based materials have emerged as promising photocatalysts due to their unique band structure, excellent stability, and environmental friendliness. This review provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the current state of research on g-C3N4-based photocatalysts. The review summarizes several strategies to improve the photocatalytic performance of pristine g-C3N4, e.g., by creating heterojunctions, doping with non-metallic and metallic materials, co-catalyst loading, tuning catalyst morphology, metal deposition, and nitrogen-defect engineering. The review also highlights the various characterization techniques employed to elucidate the structural and physicochemical features of g-C3N4-based catalysts, as well as their applications of in photocatalytic degradation and hydrogen production, emphasizing their remarkable performance in pollutants' removal and clean energy generation. Furthermore, this review article investigates the effect of operational parameters on the catalytic activity and efficiency of g-C3N4-based catalysts, shedding light on the key factors that influence their performance. The review also provides insights into the photocatalytic pathways and reaction mechanisms involving g-C3N4 based photocatalysts. The review also identifies the research gaps and challenges in the field and presents prospects for the development and utilization of g-C3N4-based photocatalysts. Overall, this comprehensive review provides valuable insights into the synthesis, characterization, applications, and prospects of g-C3N4-based photocatalysts, offering guidance for future research and technological advancements in this rapidly growing field.

Recent advances in g-C3N4-based photo-enzyme catalysts for degrading organic pollutants

In recent years, photocatalytic reactions have shown great potential in degrading organic pollutants because of their simple operation and no secondary pollution. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) is one of the most frequently used photocatalyst materials in the field of photocatalysis because it is a form of photocatalytic material with facile synthesis, no metal, visible light response, and strong stability. Enzyme-catalyzed degradation has received extensive attention due to its broad selectivity, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP), one of several oxidoreductases utilized for pollutant degradation, has a wide range of applications due to its mild reaction conditions and high stability. Exploring efficient platforms for immobilizing g-C₃N₄ and HRP to develop photo-enzyme-coupled catalysis is an attractive practical topic. The coupling effect of g-C₃N₄ and HRP improves the carrier separation efficiency and generates more active species, which finally realize the solar-driven non-selective destruction of organic pollutants. We describe the alteration of g-C₃N₄ and the immobilization of HRP in detail in this study, and we outline recent developments in the photo-enzyme coupling of g-C₃N₄ and HRP.

Facilitated Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B over One-Step Synthesized Honeycomb-Like BiFeO3/g-C3N4 Catalyst

In the present work, a facile one-step methodology was used to synthesize honeycomb-like BiFeO₃/g-C₃N₄ composites, where the well-dispersed BiFeO₃ strongly interacted with the hg-C₃N₄. The 10BiFeO₃/hg-C₃N₄ could completely degrade RhB under visible light illumination within 60 min. The degradation rate constant was remarkably improved and approximately three times and seven times that of pristine hg-C₃N₄ and BiFeO₃, respectively. This is ascribed to the following factors: (1) the unique honeycomb-like morphology facilitates the diffusion of the reactants and effectively improves the utilization of light energy by multiple reflections of light; (2) the charged dye molecules can be tightly bound to the spontaneous polarized BiFeO₃ surface to form the Stern layer; (3) the Z-scheme heterojunction and the ferroelectric synergistically promoted the efficient separation and migration of the photogenerated charges. This method can synchronously tune the micro-nano structure, surface property, and internal field construction for g-C₃N₄-based photocatalysts, exhibiting outstanding potential in environmental purification.

Enhanced visible-light-driven RhB removal with a Mo–Ni bimetallic sulfide/g-C3N4 nanosheet Schottky junction

A novel Schottky heterojunction is fabricated from narrow bandgap Mo–Ni bimetallic sulfide and g-C3N4 nanosheets to maximize carrier separation.

Strategies for preparing TiO2/CuS nanocomposites with cauliflower-like protrusions for photocatalytic water purification

A simple and controllable method was developed to prepare TiO2/CuS nanocomposites with high photocatalytic efficiency.

Photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine-B by visible light assisted peroxymonosulfate activation using Z-scheme MIL-100(Fe)/Bi2S3 composite: a combined experimental and theoretical approach

The photocatalytic efficiency of binary MIL-100(Fe)/Bi2S3 (MIL-BS) composite was utilized towards visible light assisted peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation and degradation of Rhodamine-B (RhB) dye. The binary catalyst, with 10wt% Bi2S3 (MIL-BS(10)),...