Performance and mechanism investigation on the enhanced photocatalytic removal of atrazine on S-doped g-C3N4

Developing efficient method for removing low-concentration atrazine, a poisonous chlorinated triazine herbicide with poor biodegradability, was an important measure to control its risk. In this work, highly efficient photocatalytic oxidation of atrazine was achieved on S-doped g-C3N4 (S-g-C3N4). Approximate 99.6% of atrazine was removed in 2 h with a reaction rate constant of 2.76 h−1, nearly 2.44 times that on g-C3N4. The mechanism investigation indicated the improved photocatalytic performance of S-g-C3N4 could be attributed to the enlarged specific surface area, extended light absorption as well as the accelerated separation of the photogenerated charge carriers, which was brought about by the successful doping of sulfur in g-C3N4. Meanwhile, the influence of sulfur doping on the generation and contribution of different reactive species in atrazine removal were also elucidated. It revealed that compared with g-C3N4, the more positive valence band potential of S-g-C3N4 was beneficial to produce more singlet oxygen, which could react synergistically with the superoxide radicals, leading to the improved atrazine removal efficiency. The S-g-C3N4 based photocatalytic system also showed preferential photocatalytic oxidation capability in removing other triazine pesticides compared with 3-chlorophenol (3-CP). The potential applicability of the S-g-C3N4 based photocatalytic system in removing atrazine in high salty water was also investigated, which exhibited superior anti-interference ability towards virous coexistent ions. This work will provide essential and fundamental information for establishing efficient photocatalytic system for triazine type pollutants in waters.