Graphitic carbon nitride for elemental mercury capture

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) as a nanocarbon material has attracted accelerated concern because of its layered structure, facile synthesis route and lower capital cost. Here, three kinds of g-C3N4 are fabricated via simply thermal polycondensation of dicyandiamide, melamine, and urea at high temperature, and they are applied for elemental mercury (Hg0) capture in a fixed-bed reactor. We found that the g-C3N4 attained by urea pyrolysis exhibited prominent Hg0 capture ability with Hg0 removal efficiency of ∼84% which is much higher than that of the g-C3N4 derived from dicyandiamide and melamine pyrolysis, probably attributed to its bigger BET surface area and pore volume.