Abstract:

To eliminate the additional assistance of previously reported strategies for the synthesis of g-C₃N₄ nanosheets such as templates, strong acids and alkalis, in this study, an innovative pattern for transportation of molten g-C₃N₄ intermediates, without any additional substance assistance, has been resoundingly established to produce amino-rich g-C₃N₄ nanosheets. The innovative pattern concretely contains the preliminary placement of melamine onto the top platform of an inverted crucible and their subsequent one-step calcination. During the calcination process, melamine and its subsequently formed g-C₃N₄ intermediate can transform into a molten state and gradually stream down along the outer surface of inverted crucible. This molten intermediate transportation pattern contributes to remarkably resist severe aggregation, resulting in the final polymerization into amino-rich g-C₃N₄ nanosheets in sequence. Moreover, the resultant amino-rich g-C₃N₄ nanosheets exhibit an evidently enhanced photocatalytic H₂O₂-production rate of ca. 85.8 μmol·L^–1·h^–1, over 2 times superior to bulk g-C₃N₄, mainly due to the fact that in addition to their nanosheet structures with enhanced specific surface areas, their amino-rich structures can efficiently reinforce the adsorption of O₂ and *OOH intermediates to accelerate their effective transformation into H₂O₂. This work delivers an innovative pattern to synthesize amino-rich g-C₃N₄ nanosheets with an insight into the photocatalytic mechanism.

Key words: Photocatalysis, g-C₃N₄ nanosheets, Amino-rich, Intermediate transportation, H₂O₂ production