Simple synthesis of Zr-doped graphitic carbon nitride towards enhanced photocatalytic performance under simulated solar light irradiation

•Zr-doped g-C3N4 catalysts were synthesized through a simple pyrolysis approach.•Zr-doped g-C3N4 catalysts have hierarchical mesostructures with high specific surface area.•Induced Zr species into g-C3N4 can extend the spectral response property.•Induced Zr species into g-C3N4 can reduce electron–hole pair recombination.

Bandgap narrowed Zr-doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) catalysts with different Zr doping concentrations were synthesized through a pyrolysis approach. It was observed that Zr-doped g-C3N4 catalysts possessed worm-like mesostructures with higher specific surface area. Characterization results implied that a high-performance g-C3N4 photocatalyst can be synthesized with combining narrowed bandgap, reduced recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and enlarged specific surface area by means of direct Zr doping modification.

Graphical abstractThe proposed mechanism for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of Zr-doped g-C3N4: with a suitable doping concentration, the doped Zr species in lattice structure of g-C3N4 served to meliorate the electronic conductivity, which significantly suppressed the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and lead to a higher energy efficiency.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide