A simple and environmentally friendly method for preparing graphitic carbon nitride with high specific surface area

Developing a simple and environmentally friendly method to prepare graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with a high specific surface area remains challenging. This letter reports a molten pretreatment method for preparing g-C3N4 (M−g−C3N4) and compares it to the traditional calcination method used to prepare g-C3N4 (T-g-C3N4). M−g−C3N4 possessed similar crystal and chemical structures to T-g-C3N4. It also exhibited a more mesoporous structure and nitrogen vacancies due to the production of ammonia gas during the molten pretreatment of urea, resulting in a 5.6-fold increase in its specific surface area. M−g−C3N4 demonstrated superior adsorption and photocatalytic degradation towards Rhodamine B than T-g-C3N4.