Rapid Microwave Synthesis of Mesoporous Oxygen-Doped g-C3N4with Carbon Vacancies for Efficient Photocatalytic H2O2Production

Oxygen-doped g-C3N4 (CN) with carbon vacancies (O–CNC) was synthesized by microwave heating the mixture of melamine–cyanuric acid (MCA) supramolecular aggregates and oxalic acid for only 7 min. The as-synthesized O–CNC shows a mesoporous structure and exhibits a tunable band structure, optimized charge separation, and significantly enhanced two-electron reduction for H2O2 production. The photocatalytic H2O2 production rate reaches 2008.4 μmol h–1 g–1 under simulated sunlight irradiation, which is more than 4 times higher than that of pristine bulk CN. The enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of the mesoporous structure with a large specific surface area, doped oxygen atoms, and carbon vacancies. These results have provided a facile and efficient way for realizing the practical application of CN in photocatalytic H2O2 production.