Mesoporous Graphitic Carbon Nitrides Decorated with Cu Nanoparticles: Efficient Photocatalysts for Degradation of Tartrazine Yellow Dye

A series of mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-C(3)N(4)) materials are synthesized by directly pyrolyzing melamine containing many embedded silica nanoparticles templates, and then etching the silica templates from the carbonized products. The mass ratio of melamine-to-silica templates and the size of the silica nanoparticles are found to dictate whether or not mpg-C(3)N(4) with large surface area and high porosity form. The surfaces of the mpg-C(3)N(4) materials are then decorated with copper (Cu) nanoparticles, resulting in Cu-decorated mpg-C(3)N(4) composite materials that show excellent photocatalytic activity for degradation of tartrazine yellow dye. The materials’ excellent photocatalytic performance is attributed to their high surface area and the synergistic effects created in them by mpg-C(3)N(4) and Cu nanoparticles, including the Cu nanoparticles’ greater ability to separate photogenerated charge carriers from mpg-C(3)N(4).