The Structural, Optical and Thermal Characterization of g-C3N4 for Photocatalysis

Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄)-based nanomaterials gained a lot of interest due to their special qualities, which include their chemical stability and ease of modification. Still, g-C₃N₄'s ability to work as a photocatalyst is limited. The combination of adsorption and photocatalysis has become popular in recent years because adsorption is necessary for photocatalytic surface reactions. g-C₃N₄ was made by heating melamine and then cooling it down. Its structural, optical, and thermal properties were then studied. The XRD diffraction spectra show that g-C₃N₄ has a layered structure. The calculated d-spacing is 0.324 nm and the estimated crystallite size is 90.9 nm. The UV–Vis studies showed that the material strongly absorbs visible light and has a band gap of about 2.61 eV. TG and DSC results showed that the material was very stable at high temperatures and found a thermal transition point about 350 °C. These results indicate that g-C₃N₄ is a promising material for photocatalytic and environmental applications.