Facile one-pot synthesis of Mg-doped g-C3N4 for photocatalytic reduction of CO2

Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has attracted wide attention due to its potential in solving energy and environmental issues. However, rapid charge recombination and a narrow visible light absorption region limit its performance. In our study, Mg-doped g-C₃N₄ was synthesized through a facile one-pot strategy for CO₂ reduction. After Mg doping, the light utilization efficiency and photo-induced electron–hole pair separation efficiency of the catalysts were improved, which could be due to the narrower band gap and introduced midgap states. The highest amounts of CO and CH₄ were obtained on Mg-CN-4% under ultraviolet light illumination, which were about 5.1 and 3.8 times that of pristine g-C₃N₄, respectively; the yield of CO and CH₄ reached 12.97 and 7.62 μmol g⁻¹ under visible light irradiation. Our work may provide new insight for designing advanced photocatalysts in energy conversion applications.