In situ bubble template promoted facile preparation of porous g-C3N4 with excellent visible-light photocatalytic performance

Porous graphitic carbon nitride (pg-C3N4) was facilely and economically prepared through in situ bubble templates such as (NH4)(2)S2O8, and the surface area of the resultant pg-C3N4 was controlled from 6.4 to 55.0 m(2) g(-1) by adjusting the mass ratio of (NH4)(2)S2O8/melamine. Moreover, pg-C3N4 was also obtained by other gas-generating porogens of ammonium salts, displaying the generality of the preparation method. The as-prepared g-C3N4 presented a porous structure with a higher surface area and displayed an improved separation efficiency for photogenerated electron-hole pairs. These integrative positive factors contributed to pg-C3N4 possessing more excellent photocatalytic activity for degrading Rhodamine B and phenol pollutants, and splitting water to H-2 than bulk g-C3N4 under visible-light. Moreover, the as-prepared pg-C3N4 exhibited unexceptionable stability and reusability even after four photocatalytic runs. The simple, economical and general fabrication strategy with bubble-generated porogen agents for porous graphitic carbon nitride with superior visible-light photocatalytic performance is attractive for environmental and energy application fields.