Highly Mesoporous g-C(3)N(4) with Uniform Pore Size Distribution via the Template-Free Method to Enhanced Solar-Driven Tetracycline Degradation

A highly mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride g-C(3)N(4) (GCN) has been produced by a template-free method and effectively photodegrade tetracycline (TC) antibiotic under solar light irradiation. The mesoporous GCN (GCN-500) greatly improves the photoactivity (0.0247 min(−1)) by 2.13 times, as compared to that of bulk GCN (0.0116 min(−1)). The efficiently strengthened photoactivity is ascribed to the high porosity (117.05 m(2)/g), and improves the optical absorption under visible light (E(g) = 2.65 eV) and good charge carrier separation efficiency. The synthesized mesoporous GCN shows a uniform pore size (~3 nm) distribution. GCN-500 shows large pore volume (0.210 cm(3)/g) compared to GCN-B (0.083 cm(3)/g). Besides, the GCN-500 also exhibits good recyclability and photostability for TC photodegradation. In conclusion, GCN-500 is a recyclable photocatalyst for the removal of TC under visible light irradiation.