Engineering the nanoarchitecture and texture of polymeric carbon nitride semiconductor for enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

- The g-C3N4 was synthesized by direct pyrolysis of cheap urea at 550 °C in air.
- The g-C3N4 treated for longer time possessed high surface area of 288 m2/g.
- A layer exfoliation and splitting mechanism was proposed.
- The nanoarchitectures of g-C3N4 can be simply engineered by pyrolysis time.
- The activity enhancement was ascribed to the synergistic effects of multiple factors.