Synthesis of Mo-doped graphitic carbon nitride catalysts and their photocatalytic activity in the reduction of CO2 with H2O

•Mo-doped g-C3N4 catalysts were synthesized through a simple pyrolysis method.•The Mo-doped g-C3N4 catalysts have worm-like mesostructures with high surface area.•Induced Mo species into g-C3N4 can extend the spectral response property.•A lower recombination rate of the electron–hole pairs in Mo-doped g-C3N4 catalysts•The Mo-doped g-C3N4 catalysts exhibited an enhanced activity in the photoreduction of CO2.

Molybdenum doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) catalysts were prepared by a simple pyrolysis method using melamine and ammonium molybdate as precursors. The characterization results indicated that the obtained Mo-doped g-C3N4 catalysts had worm-like mesostructures with higher surface area. Introduction of Mo species can effectively extend the spectral response property and reduce the recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes. CO2 photocatalytic reduction tests showed that the Mo-doped g-C3N4 catalysts exhibited considerably higher activity (the highest CO and CH4 yields of 887 and 123 μmol g− 1-cat., respectively, after 8 h of UV irradiation.) compared with pure g-C3N4 from melamine.

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