Mesoporous carbon nitride (C3N4) is a 2-D nanomaterial which can not only serve as a photocatalyst but also as a support for nanocatalysts because of their suitable band gap of 2.7 eV, high surface area, large pore size/volume, and good electrical conductivity. Herein, we report the facile synthesis of mesoporous carbon nitride with ordered, uniform channel morphology and their use as a photocatalyst to decompose pharmaceuticals as well as a support for ultrafine Au nanoparticles to catalytically reduce nitroarenes. Results show that the I, K-codoped C3N4 has a tunable band gap and can effectively photodegrade &gt; 99% of sulfamethoxazole within 45 min of visible light irradiation. In addition, C3N4 provides high surface area to well-disperse Au nanoparticles for the rapidly catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The pseudo-first-order rate constant for 4-nitrophenol reduction over Au@C3N4 can be up to 3.56 min-1 in the presence of NaBH4. Moreover, the EIS and ORR results indicate that the strong interaction between C3N4 and Au nanoparticles improves the electrochemical properties as well as accelerates the conversion efficiency and rate of 4-NP. The electron transfer number is in the range of are in the range 2.5 – 3.2, which are higher than the theoretical 2-electron reduction process. These results clearly indicate that C3N4 is a promising green catalyst of great application potential in water and wastewater treatment.

Mesoporous carbon nitride as a green multifunctional material for water purification

2019 Fall National Meeting

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