Photodegradation of cytostatic drugs by g-C3N4: Synthesis, properties and performance fitted by selecting the appropriate precursor Pérez Molina, Álvaro Pastrana Martínez, Luisa María Morales Torres, Sergio Maldonado Hodar, Francisco José Carbon nitride Chemical structure Precursors Photocatalysis 5-fluorouracil Cyclophosphamide Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was synthetized by a one-step thermal method from different N-rich precursors, namely melamine, dicyandiamide, urea, thiourea and cyanamide. The structure, optical and physicochemical properties of g-C3N4 materials were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy, among others. Both melamine and dicyandiamide provided a less porous structure composed by large flake sheets, whereas urea and thiourea favoured g-C3N4 composed by small flat sheets and wrinkles with a larger porosity. The establishment of more condensed g-C3N4 networks with a reduced band gap was also evidenced for melamine and dicyandiamide precursors, while urea favoured less condensed melem or melon structures. The photoactivity of the different g-C3N4 was assessed for the removal of an aqueous solution containing 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cyclophosphamide (CP) or a mixture of both cytostatic drugs, under near UV-Vis and solar-LED irradiations. The best performing photocatalysts under near UV-Vis irradiation, were those prepared from melamine (kapp = 14.6 × 10–2 min–1 for 5-FU) and thiourea (kapp = 2.5 × 10–2 min–1 for CP), while urea was the most active under solar-LED irradiation (kapp = 0.183 × 10–2 min–1 for 5-FU). In addition, CP was more resistant to be degraded than 5-FU, and a competitive effect for the generated hydroxyl radicals was evidenced when both pollutant molecules were in the same solution. The photoactivity of g-C3N4 materials was justified by the combination of various effects: (i) surface area, (ii) well-connected and condensed g-C3N4 structures and (iii) high surface C/N ratios with nitrogen vacancies 2023-05-16T06:48:56Z 2023-05-16T06:48:56Z 2023-02-27 info:eu-repo/semantics/article A. Pérez-Molina et al. Photodegradation of cytostatic drugs by g-C3N4: Synthesis, properties and performance fitted by selecting the appropriate precursor . Catalysis Today 418 (2023) 114068[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2023.114068] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/81549 10.1016/j.cattod.2023.114068 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Elsevier