Physicochemical characterization of la-doped g-c3 n4 for degradation of phenol and organic dye

Abstract

A series of La-doped (0.001–1 g) graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4) samples was prepared through the air atmospheric pyrolysis of melamine. Different analytical techniques were employed to char-acterize the structural, morphological, optical, and photocatalytic properties of both pure and doped g-C3 N4 samples. The phase structures of pure and La-doped g-C3 N4 samples were revealed by X-ray diffraction. The scanning electron microscopy analysis expressed that the well-defined particle shape became ambiguous, and the particle size gradually decreased with the increasing doping amount of La nitrate ions. Due to La doping on g-C3 N4, the optical properties of the samples were improved. In comparison to pure g-C3 N4, La-doped g-C3 N4 manifested higher photocatalytic degradation efficiency toward methylene blue (MB) and phenol under visible light irradiation.