Porous graphitic carbon nitride with sodium doped and N vacancies for synergistically enhancing the performance of RhB photodegradation

Abstract

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) stands out as a highly promising visible-light-driven photocatalyst, yet it grapples with the challenge of boosting its photocatalytic performance by increasing specific surface area, inhibiting charge recombination, and stimulating light absorption. Herein, we successfully synthesized a porous g-C₃N₄ combining sodium doped and N vacancies to synergistically enhance the photocatalytic performance through a simple secondary thermal polymerization method. The experimental results indicate that the existing porous structure elevates the specific surface area of g-C₃N₄ to 17.52 m² g⁻¹. Concurrently, benefiting from the narrower band gap and the more efficient charge separation derived from the synergistic modulation of sodium doped and N vacancies, Na-P-g-C₃N₄ exhibits 5-fold enhanced catalytic efficiency of Rhodamine B photodegradation compared with the undoped g-C₃N₄. This work deepens our insights into optimizing g-C₃N₄ for highly effective photocatalytic materials through synergistic modulation of sodium doped and N vacancies.