# Recent Advances of g-C3N4/LDHs Composite Photocatalysts in Water Pollution Treatment

**Authors:** Jing Li, Yaping Guo, Jie Bai

PMC · DOI: 10.3390/molecules31010180 · Molecules · 2026-01-03

## TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress in using g-C3N4/LDHs composite materials for photocatalytic water treatment, highlighting their potential to efficiently degrade pollutants using sunlight.

## Contribution

The paper provides a systematic review of the structural synergies, synthesis methods, and optimization strategies of g-C3N4/LDHs composites for water pollution treatment.

## Key findings

- g-C3N4/LDHs composites show enhanced visible-light absorption and efficient charge separation for pollutant degradation.
- The synergistic interaction between g-C3N4 and LDHs improves adsorption capacity and reaction kinetics.
- The review identifies challenges and future directions for scalable and multifunctional photocatalytic systems.

## Abstract

Water pollution poses a pressing global environmental threat, driving an urgent need for efficient, stable, and eco-friendly water treatment techniques. Semiconductor photocatalysis has emerged as a highly promising solution, utilizing solar energy to thoroughly degrade pollutants under mild conditions without secondary pollution. Among numerous photocatalysts, the graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)/layered double hydroxides (LDHs) heterostructures represent a kind of high-performance photocatalysts that combine the integrated advantages of both components. These composites exhibit enhanced visible-light absorption, a highly efficient charge separation and transfer, and a significantly increased specific surface area that promotes the enrichment and degradation of pollutants. The synergistic interaction between g-C3N4 and LDHs not only mitigates their individual limitations but also creates a superior photocatalytic system with improved adsorption capacity and reaction kinetics. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in g-C3N4/LDHs composite photocatalysts for aquatic pollutant removal. It elaborates on the structural synergies, synthesis routes, and optimization strategies, with a particular focus on applications and mechanistic insights into the degradation of various pollutants-including organic dyes, drugs, and phenolics. Finally, the review outlines current challenges and future research directions, such as deepening mechanistic understanding, designing multifunctional systems, and advancing toward scalable implementation, providing a valuable reference for developing next-generation photocatalytic water treatment technologies.

## Full-text entities

- **Chemicals:** Water (MESH:D014867), g-C3N4 (MESH:C000629596), LDHs (-)

## Full text

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## Figures

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## References

143 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12787870/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12787870