With high redox activity, superior conductivity, abundant pores, and large specific surface area, nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon featuring a hierarchically porous structure is regarded as ideal electrode material for supercapacitors. In this work, hierarchically porous nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon (PG-PZC50) was fabricated via non-solvent induced phase separation and high-temperature calcination processes. SEM images showed its three-dimensional network structure, with abundant macro- and mesopores distributed throughout. XRD and Raman spectra confirmed the phase purity and graphitic nature of the as-prepared material, while XPS revealed its surface elemental composition, especially the content and doping states of nitrogen atoms. The graphene oxide-induced three-dimensional network, combined with the mesoporous structure of metalorganic framework-derived N-doped carbon particles, creates abundant migration channels and a large adsorption surface area for the electrolyte ions. Benefiting from its hierarchically porous structure and high nitrogen-doping content, the formed PG-PZC50 reached high specific capacitances of 499.7 F g− 1 at 0.1 A g− 1 and 179.6 F g− 1 at 20 A g− 1. Notably, the material also demonstrated robust cyclic stability with no capacitance loss after 10,000 charge–discharge cycles. The proposed synthetic strategy provides new ideas for the facile and reproducible construction of nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon with 3D hierarchically porous structure and high capacitive performances.

The focus of this study is to develop and employ a barium hexaferrite/graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite, abbreviated as BaFe/gCN NC, for photocatalytic degradation of Congo red (CR) under visible light illumination. Barium hexaferrite and graphitic carbon nitride were prepared using sol–gel and thermal polymerization methods to achieve an even distribution and good contact at the interface. The nanocomposite was then prepared through the sonication method. The properties of synthesized materials were confirmed by the examination of their physicochemical properties. By employing an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), the structure analysis of the synthesized materials provided a hexagonal form. It was also observed that the band gap of this composite was estimated to be 2.7 eV using UV–visible spectroscopy analysis. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the vibrational modes along with the chemical structure and bonding present in the samples. The characteristics of BaFe/gCN nanocomposite reveal that the hexagonal grain boundary is probably distributed all over the surface of g-C3N4 nanosheets, as observed from high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM). It was confirmed from the XPS analysis that the elements and chemical states of BaFe/gCN NCs are present in the form of Ba 3d, Fe 2p, O 1s, N 1s, and C 1s. Finally, 50 mg of the produced material is degraded with the help of BaFe/gCN photocatalyst, removing 90% of CR dye at 10 mg/L initial dye concentration in 150 min. Moreover, the removal ability for CR by BaFe/gCN NC was maintained more than 88% during three test cycles. As a result of increased light absorption properties of BaFe/gCN and the prevention of electron and hole recombination, active oxygen species were produced, and hence the photocatalytic activity increases.

The increasing presence of antibiotics in aquatic ecosystems has raised serious concerns about their ecological and human health impacts. In response, extensive research has focused on the degradation and removal of these stubborn pollutants. Among various approaches, heterogeneous photocatalysis has gained prominence due to its effectiveness in eliminating diverse contaminants from water. This method stands out for its cost-efficiency, environmental friendliness, and high performance, making it a practical solution for pollutant mitigation. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has attracted significant attention for developing advanced photocatalysts. Its non-metallic nature, robust stability, suitable electronic configuration, and favorable 2.7 eV band gap make it an excellent candidate. However, g-C3N4 faces challenges such as limited visible-light absorption, rapid charge recombination, low oxidation power, and poor texture, which hinder its photocatalytic efficiency. These issues can be addressed by developing g-C3N4-composite-based magnetic semiconductor photocatalysts possessing compatible energy bands. Integrating magnetic materials with g-C3N4 photocatalysts offers new possibilities for easy separation and recyclability, enhancing practical use. While previous studies have also detailed various modification methods for g-C3N4-based materials, the structure-performance relationships of g-C3N4, particularly for detecting and degrading antibiotics, need further exploration. This review critically examines the utilization of g-C3N4-based magnetic photocatalysts for antibiotic removal, exploring fabrication techniques, physical properties, and performance metrics. Various strategies to optimize their efficiency, including doping, heterojunction formation, and surface modification, are also covered. It also delves into the mechanisms of photocatalytic antibiotic degradation, addressing challenges and opportunities in developing these materials. Ultimately, we propose that the synergy of magnetic components into g-C3N4 not only represents a significant advancement in photocatalyst design but also opens new avenues for sustainable wastewater treatment technologies, demonstrating a high level of novelty in the field. The review provides valuable insights into current research and potential advancements in antibiotic remediation.

Graphitic nitrogen-doped carbon film/nanoparticle composite, in which the films were wrapped and separated by the nanoparticles, was prepared through a simple co-calcination route. Due to its unique porous structure and improved nitrogen content, the as-prepared electrode material could exhibit high specific capacitances of 317.5 F g− 1 at 0.5 A g− 1 and 200.0 F g− 1 at 20 A g− 1, and stable cycling behavior with no capacitance decline after 10,000 cycles in three-electrode system. When assembled in two-electrode capacitor, its specific capacitance could be well kept at 265.5 F g− 1 at 0.5 A g− 1, and thus the supercapacitor with a high energy density of 9.22 Wh kg− 1 was obtained. The superior energy storage properties of the as-prepared material indicate its promising application as high-performance carbon-based electrode for supercapacitors.

Development of carbon-based biocompatible and flexible nanosensors is essential in different practical applications. Humidity sensor is crucial in different fields among them. Herein, a unique metal-free nanosensor comprised of 2D-graphitic carbon nitride (CN) decorated with 0D-carbon dots (C-dots) was fabricated to monitor humidity in human breath. Simple polymerization and carbonization techniques were used to synthesize nitrogen enriched heterostructure (CN@C-dots). The synthesized heterostructure showed excellent physicochemical properties including high surface area, hydrophilic functionalities and more active sites that were responsible for enhanced humidity sensing. The fabricated nanosensor indicated excellent resistivity against humidity due to diffused proton hoping through inhibition of ion transfer from multiple water layers. The interaction mechanism was explained through simple hydrogen bonding and defective site chemisorbed oxygen participation in physisorbed humidity molecules.

The combination of the two-dimensional (2D) materials g-C3N4 and MXenes in photocatalysis offers several advantages. The g-C3N4 can serve as a visible light-absorbing material, while MXenes can enhance the charge separation and transfer processes leading to improved photocatalytic efficiency. A critical review of 77 already published articles in the field of photocatalytic reactions using g-C3N4 and MXenes, such as hydrogen evolution, the reduction of carbon dioxide, the degradation of organic compounds, the redox reactions of nitrogen, was conducted. For the purpose of greater objectivity, the published results were analysed by non-parametric Mann–Whitney, Kolmogorov–Smirnov, and Mood´s median tests and visualised by box and whisker plots. It was found that MXenes can significantly improve the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4. Adding other co-catalysts to the MXene/g-C3N4 composites does not bring a significant improvement in the photocatalytic performance. Promising results were obtained especially in the fields of hydrogen evolution and the reduction of carbon dioxide. Since the MXenes are relatively a new class of materials, there is still a big challenge for finding new photocatalytic applications and for the enhancement of existing photocatalytic systems based on g-C3N4, especially in terms of the MXenes and g-C3N4 surface and in the heterojunction engineering.

The nanostructured dysprosium oxide ( Dy2O3) was synthesized by the co-precipitation method and incorporated with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) using the ultrasonication method. The resultant product is denoted as Dy2O3/ g-C3N4 nanocomposite which was further used for electrochemical sensing of riboflavin (RF). The physicochemical properties of Dy2O3/ g-C3N4 nanocomposite were examined using several characterization techniques. The obtained results exhibit the nanocomposite formation with the preferred elemental compositions, functional groups, crystalline phase and desired surface morphology. The electrocatalytic performance of Dy2O3/ g-C3N4 nanocomposite was scrutinized with a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) via differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques with the conventional three-electrode system. The modified electrode distributes more active surface area suggesting high electrocatalytic activity for the RF detection with two linear ranges (0.001–40 μM and 40–150 μM), a low detection limit of 48 nM and sound sensitivity (2.5261 μA μM−1 cm− 2). Further, the designed sensor possesses high selectivity, excellent stability, repeatability and reproducibility. Finally, the fabricated sensor was successfully estimated for the detection of RF in actual food sample analysis using honey and milk with better recovery.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has attracted extensive attention in energy storage due to its suitable and tunable bandgap, high chemical/thermal stability, earth abundance and environmental friendliness. However, its conductivity should be improved to work as the electrode materials in supercapacitors. In this report, we have prepared a two-dimensional composite (CN-PANI) based on g-C3N4 and polyaniline (PANI) by in-situ polymerization, which can be efficiently applied as electrode material for supercapacitors. The introduction of PANI can increase the conductivity of the electrode, and the porous structure of g-C3N4 can provide enough channels for the transport of electrolyte ions and improve the electrode stability. As a result, the obtained CN-PANI demonstrates excellent specific capacitance (234.0 F g− 1 at 5 mV/s), good rate performance and high cycling stability (86.2% after 10,000 cycles at 50 mV/s), showing great potential for high-rate supercapacitors.

To solve the problem of water pollution, researchers have proposed a photocatalytic degradation technology, in which the key factor is the development of efficient photocatalytic materials. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), an n-type semiconductor, has been widely studied due to its suitable band gap (2.7 eV), low cost, easy preparation, non-toxicity, and high photostability. However, the pure-phase g-C3N4 still has defects such as low specific surface area, insufficient visible light absorption, low charge mobility, few active sites for interfacial reaction, and easy recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which leads to the lower photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4. Aiming at the problems mentioned above, this paper focus on the synthesis of g-C3N4-based composites with high photocatalytic activity via lemon juice induction method. Thiourea and lemon juice were selected as precursors, and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) as electron mediators were introduced anchoring on the surface of g-C3N4 to build g-C3N4/CQDs with compact interface. The results showed that small-sized CQDs are uniformly distributed on the surface of g-C3N4, and the g-C3N4/CQDs composite has a 2D0D structure, which reduces the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 4% g-C3N4/CQDs for RhB reaches the highest data of 90.9%, and the photocatalytic degradation rate is 0.016 min− 1, which is about 2.3 times that of g-C3N4. After four cycles of photocatalytic reaction, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the material remained at 81.7%. Therefore, the g-C3N4/CQDs synthesized via lemon juice induction has a more stable microstructure, and the charge separation efficiency is greatly improved, which is suitable for practical photocatalytic environmental protection.

Graphitic carbon nitride ( C3N4) has been intensively studied in the last 25 years. Although the number of papers about C3N4 published per year has been growing exponentially, there are still some unclear issues with this material. One of them is s-triazine C3N4 (s-C3N4), which is an allotrope of C3N4. The theoretical computational as well as experimental synthetic results are not unambiguous. The properties of s-C3N4 have been described only in two papers, and no similar and reproducible results have been obtained so far. This paper provides a brief overview of s-C3N4 to bring attention to this material, for example, as a potential photocatalyst.

In the present study, a novel electrochemical sensor for acetaminophen (AMP) which included quantum graphitic carbon nitride dots, g-C3N4QDs, was designed and conducted with molecular imprinted polymer (MIP). First, bulk g-C3N4 was generated with direct thermal polycondensation of melamine. After the treatment of the acidic solution containing H2SO4: HNO3 (1:1, v:v), the heating treatment at 200 °C on the dispersion provided g-C3N4QDs. In this respect, for nanomaterial characterization, some spectroscopic approaches were performed including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as well as electroanalytical methods such as electrochemical impedance (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). In accordance with the aims of the study, AMP imprinted electrode was formed after high electrocatalytic performance and linear range of 1.0 × 10– 11–2.0 × 10– 8 M and the LODs of 2.0 × 10– 12 was achieved. Eventually, an AMP-printed sensor was also used for AMP identification in pharmaceutical samples.