One step-polymerization for constructing 1D/2D oxygen doped g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunctions with highly improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

Constructing an isotype 1D/2D O-doped g-C₃N₄ heterojunction to boost the efficiency of g-C₃N₄ for the decomposition of organic pollutants under visible light irradiation is a practical approach. It is possible to use such materials to overcomes g-C₃N₄’s inherent disadvantage of rapid charge recombination. In this work, a straightforward, one-step self-polymerization technique for fabricating 1D/2D O-doped g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunctions comprise of O-doped g-C₃N₄ nanotubes and nanosheets is presented here. A plausible formation mechanism supported by XRD and FT-IR analyses is proposed and investigated. The obtained results show that the fabricated materials exhibit a high surface area (114.4 m² g⁻¹) while the PL technique confirmed the rapid charge separation. Compared with the as-fabricated 2D g-C₃N₄ nanosheets, 1D/2D O-doped g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunctions possess superior photocatalytic activity for RhB degradation under visible light illumination. The degradation pathway was investigated using LC-MS analysis. The improved photocatalytic degradation ability of 1D/2D O-doped g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunctions is attributed to the enhanced absorption capability, high surface area, and separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers.