Efficient Photocatalytic H2O2 Production Ability of a Novel Graphitic Carbon Nitride/Carbon Composites under Visible Light

In the present work, using one-step calcination of a mixture made of potassium hydroxide (KOH), melamine, and microplastics, this work prepares a novel graphitic carbon nitride/carbon (g-C3 N4 /C) composite, which can be employed to photo-catalytically produce hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) at a high rate up to 6.146 mmol g-1 h-1 under visible light irradiation. By analyzing the energy band structure of the catalyst, the production of H2 O2 in this system consists of two single-electron reactions. The modification of KOH makes abundant N-vacancies caused by cyano-groups in g-C3 N4 , enhancing the electron absorption ability. Moreover, the introduction of graphitic carbon increases its specific surface area and porosity and improves the adsorption ability of O2 . Simultaneously, their synergism reduces the g-C3 N4 band gap, making both the conduction-band and valence-band positions more negative, showing enhanced reduction ability, lowering the energy barrier for oxygen reduction, and greatly improving the photogeneration performance of H2 O2 .