Synthesis of halogen doped graphite carbon nitride nanorods with outstanding photocatalytic H2O2 production ability via saturated NH4X (X = Cl, Br) solution-hydrothermal post-treatment

Abstract Doping is a very effective method to promote the photocatalytic performance of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) based catalyst. However, the traditional co-condensation method causes the large particle size, small surface area and low separation rate of electrons-holes. In this work, halogen doped g-C 3 N 4 nanorods with outstanding photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production ability were prepared via saturated NH 4 X (X = Cl, Br) solution-hydrothermal post-treatment. XRD, N 2 adsorption, UV–Vis, SEM, XPS, EPR, EIS and PL were used to characterize the obtained catalysts. Saturated salt solution-hydrothermal post-treatment changed the morphology and surface area of as-prepared g-C 3 N 4 catalyst, as well as doped the halogen atoms into g-C 3 N 4 lattice simultaneously. Br doped g-C 3 N 4 catalyst displayed higher photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production ability than that of Cl doped g-C 3 N 4 catalyst. Compared with traditional co-condensation method, the catalyst prepared via saturated salt solution-hydrothermal post-treatment exhibited larger surface area, more effective separation rate and higher photocatalytic H 2 O 2 production ability. This work can provide a new strategy for doping heteroatoms into g-C 3 N 4 based catalyst.