Literature Review on Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4) as Photocatalyst for the Remediation of Water Polluted with Contaminants of Emerging Concern

Carbon nitrides are polymeric materials with a broad extent of applications, including photocatalysis. Among them, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), a low-cost material, is an excellent photocatalyst under visible light irradiation owing to its features such as correct band positions, high stability and non-toxicity. g-C3N4 is a metal-free material that is easily synthesized by polymerizing nitrogen-rich compounds and is an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for many reaction procedures due to its distinctive electronic structure and the benefits of the mesoporous texture. In addition, in situ or post-modification of g-C3N4 can further improve catalytic performance or expand its application for remediating environmental pollution. Water pollution from organic compounds such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals is increasing dramatically and is becoming a serious problem around the world. They enter water supplies in a variety of ways, including industrial and hospital wastewater, agricultural runoff, and chemical use. To solve this problem, photocatalysis is a promising technology. Without the use of other oxidative chemicals, g-C3N4 uses renewable solar energy to transform harmful pollutants into harmless products. As a result, much recent research has focused on the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 for wastewater treatment. For this reason, the main objective of this paper is to contribute a chronological overview of the bibliometrics on the g-C3N4 for the removal of pesticides and pharmaceuticals from water using the tools BibExcel, Bibliometrix and R-Studio IDE. A bibliometric analysis was performed using the Science Citation Index Expanded (WoS©) database to analyze the scientific literature published in the field over the last 10 years. The results were used to identify limitations and guide future research.