Carbon nitride (C3N4) has attracted significant consideration as a photocatalyst because of its abundance and more visible-light active and metal-free. In this work, oxygen-doped hollow porous surface C3N4 photocatalysts (OCN) were prepared by a simple one-step thermal polycondensation of melamine with polyoxyethylene stearyl ether as the oxygen source and template. The OCN samples were characterized and applied for the photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP), which is a pharmaceutical waste, under visible light irradiation. The highest degradation performance for CIP was obtained from the OCN sample with 1 mg polyoxyethylene stearyl, which was three times greater than that of pristine C3N4, due to the improved light absorption, less recombination rate of photogenerated electron and hole, and enhanced electron transportation. Thus, the proposed synthesis route of OCN provides an effective method in producing potential photocatalysts for the removal of organic pollutants, such as discarded pharmaceuticals, in wastewater.

Fabrication of oxygen-doped hollow porous carbon nitride photocatalyst for ciprofloxacin degradation under visible-light irradiation

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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