Phosphorus and kalium co-doped g-C₃N₄ with multiple-locus synergies to degrade atrazine: Insights into the depth analysis of the generation and role of singlet oxygen

In this work, with the help of KH₂PO₄, a phosphorus and kalium co-doped g-C₃N₄ with cyano and nitrogen vacancies (PKCN) have been prepared via a simple thermal treatment. The prepared PKCN exhibited excellent singlet oxygen (¹O₂) generation ability for the highly efficient degradation of atrazine (ATZ), reaching 95% (pH=5) of decomposition efficiency within 60 min under visible light. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results visualize the role of cyano groups, nitrogen vacancies, K atoms and P atoms, and the synergistic effect of the above four aspects contributed to the three pathways of hole oxidation, energy transfer and dismutation reaction for efficient ¹O₂ generation. Moreover, the T.E.S.T and soybean culture experiment demonstrated the toxicity of ATZ have been significantly reduced after the photocatalytic process. This work can give deep insights into the roles and synergy of each active unit for designing and synthesizing efficient g-C₃N₄.