Hydroxylation and sodium intercalation on g-C3N4 for photocatalytic removal of gaseous formaldehyde

In this study, hydroxyl-modified/Na-intercalated g-C3N4 was used as an effective material for the removal of gaseous formaldehyde (HCHO) through adsorption and photocatalytic oxidation. In a simple reflux reaction using different NaOH concentrations, the surface-grafted hydroxyl (-OH) groups of g-C3N4 formed internal hydrogen bonds with gaseous HCHO, while the Na atoms intercalated into the layered structure of g-C3N4 to create an electron transfer path (layer-Na-layer) to improve charge separation for photocatalytic oxidation. The hydroxylation as well as Na intercalation of g-C3N4 significantly increased its HCHO removal efficiency compared with that of bare g-C3N4. The HCHO removal capacity of the modified g-C(3)N(4 )reached approximately 0.12 ppm g(-1) min(-1), which was twice that of bare g-C3N4 (<0.06 ppm g(-1) min(-1)). Moreover, the modified g-C3N4 was reused at least thrice without any decline in activity. This work provides a facile, simple, and fast approach to the modification of g-C3N4 via hydroxylation and Na intercalation to enhance HCHO adsorption as well as electron transfer, rendering it a promising material for indoor HCHO removal. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.