Advancing antibiotic detection and degradation: recent innovations in graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) applications

The uncontrolled release of antibiotics into the environment would be extremely harmful to human health and ecosystems. Therefore, it is in urgent need to monitor the environment and promote the detection and degradation of antibiotics to the relatively harmless by-products to a feasible extent. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) is a non-metallic n-type semiconductor that can be used for the antibiotic detection and degradation due to its easy synthesis process, excellent chemical stability and unique optical properties. Unfortunately, the utilization of visible light, electron-hole recombination and electron conductivity have hindered its potential applications in the fields of photocatalytic degradation and electrochemical detection. Although previous publications have highlighted the diverse modification methods for the g-C₃N₄-based materials, the underlying structure-performance relationships of g-C₃N₄, especially for the detection and degradation of antibiotics, remains to be further explored. In view of this, the current review centered on the recent progress in the modification techniques of g-C₃N₄, the detection and degradation of antibiotics using the g-C₃N₄-based materials, as well as the potential antibiotic degradation mechanisms of the g-C₃N₄-based materials. Additionally, the underlying applications of the g-C₃N₄-based materials for antibiotic detection and degradation were also prospected. This review would provide a valuable research foundation and the up-to-date information for the g-C₃N₄-based materials to combat antibiotic pollution in the environment.