Porous graphitic carbon nitride nanomaterials for water treatment

The search for suitable functional materials is indispensable to solve the increasing worldwide wastewater pollution. Accordingly, porous graphitic carbon nitride (PCN) with an adjustable electronic/atomic structure has been a hot topic owing to its desirable properties of large surface area, excellent stability, strong electron transport ability, low cytotoxicity, and antibacterial and antiviral activity. Previous reviews mainly focused on the application of PCN in photocatalysis; however, its application in adsorption, reduction and other AOPs for water treatment is rarely reported, especially for actual water treatment. This review firstly summarizes the modification of PCN including morphology control, defect engineering, doping engineering, hybridizing strategy and anchoring single atoms, which can adjust the electronic structure and enhance its catalytic properties. Then, we systematically summarize functional modified porous graphitic carbon nitride (FPCN) used in adsorption, reduction, and AOPs for water treatment including the degradation of organics, landfill leachate control, constructing membrane systems, water disinfection and microbial control, with emphasis on actual water treatment that is closely related to daily life. Finally, the existing challenges and development prospects of PCN are proposed from theoretical calculation to its practical application. This review provides an in-depth understanding of PCN and presents insight into its application in different technologies for actual water treatment, and we believe that this review will be beneficial for further research.