Synthesis of Sulfur Doped 2D Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol and Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract Sulfur doped 2D graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (2D-SCN) with efficient photocatalytic activity were synthesized via 1) polycondensation of thiourea to form bulk sulfur doped graphitic carbon nitride (SCN), and 2) followed by thermal oxidative treatment of the prepared SCN via an etching strategy to form 2D-SCN. Sulfur was doped in-situ into SCN by using thiourea as the precursor and the 2D nanosheet structure was obtained during the thermal oxidative etching process. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of the 2D-SCN sample were investigated in detail. Herein it is showed that the thermal oxidative etching treatment and sulfur doping induced a two-dimensional nanosheet structure (2D-SCN-3h) with a thickness of about 4.0 nm and exposure of more sulfur elements on the surface. The surface area increased from 16.6 m2/g for SCN to 226.9 m2/g. Compared to bulk SCN, a blue shift of the absorption peaks was observed for the obtained 2D-SCN-3h photocatalyst, and the absorption inten...