الفهرس 
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Abstract
Aim of this work:
Bulk g-C3N4 (CNI) was prepared via direct pyrolysis of urea at 550 oC. Two porous g-C3N4 materials (CNII and CNIII) were synthesized using silica nanoparticles template obtained via two different routes with keeping the mass ratio of urea to silica constant at (1:1). CNIII sample was load with different amounts of CuO to prepare Cu2O@CNIII photocatalysts. The synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N2-adsorption-desorption measurements, Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). N2-adsorption-desorption measurements showed that the porous structure of CNII and CNIII has a huge surface area (50.4-85.2 m2/g) than that of bulk g-C3N4 (CNI). The surface area of CNIII samples decreased with the increase of Cu2O content in Cu2O@CNIII materials. The data obtained from the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye reveal that the addition of Cu2O to CNIII increased the photocatalytic activity when compared to CNI, CNII and metal free-CNIII photocatalysts. The high activity of CNII and CNIII samples was attributed to the texture properties while that for Cu2O@CNIII samples was related to the synergetic effect of both surface area and the presence of Cu2O nanoparticles. The experimental data was explained in terms of pseudo-first order kinetics model. The recyclability study reveals that the investigated photocatalysts were highly stable and can be reused for up to four successful runs without a major loss in their activity. from free radical trapping studies, the major reactive species photoinduced holes and super oxide radicals play an important role in the degradation of RhB.