Microwave modification of surface hydroxyl density for g-C₃N₄ with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Microwave modification was performed on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) photocatalysts to tail the surface hydroxyl content for enhanced photocatalytic activity in this work. The influence of microwave heating on the surface hydroxyl density was investigated by a suite of characterization methods. The microwave treated g-C₃N₄ (MT-g-C₃N₄) delivered a higher photocatalytic activity in degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation than pristine g-C₃N₄ due to its improved separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carries and promoted absorption capacity of RhB reactants on surface, which resulted from the increased surface hydroxyl density induced by microwave treatment. This study provides a simple and convenient method to modify g-C₃N₄ materials with enhanced photocatalytic activity for the potential application in photocatalytic elimination of environmental pollutants.