Graphitic carbon nitride (g- CN) is a promising heterogeneous metal-free catalyst for organic photosynthesis, solar energy conversion, and photodegradation of pollutants. Its catalytic performance is easily adjustable by modifying texture, optical, and electronic properties via nanocasting, doping, and copolymerization. However, simultaneous optimization has yet to be achieved. Here, a facile synthesis of mesoporous g-CN using molecular cooperative assembly between triazine molecules is reported. Flower-like, layered spherical aggregates of melamine cyanuric acid complex (MCA) are formed by precipitation from equimolecular mixtures in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Thermal polycondensation of MCA under nitrogen at 550 ° C produces mesoporous hollow spheres comprised of tri-s -triazine based g-CN nanosheets (MCA-CN) with the composition of C 3 N 4.14 H 1.98 . The layered structure succeeded from MCA induces stronger optical absorption, widens the bandgap by 0.16 eV, and increases the lifetime of photoexcited charge carriers by twice compared to that of the bulk g-CN, while the chemical structure remains similar to that of the bulk g-CN. As a result of these simultaneous modifi cations, the photodegradation kinetics of rhodamine B on the catalyst surface can be improved by 10 times.

I can Cu: Cubic mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (c‐mpg‐C3N4) is an all‐in‐one chemosensor that plays the roles of ligand, fluorophore, and supporting material, enables the simple detection of metal ions, and is highly selective and sensitive to Cu2+.

A turn-on fluorescence sensor, Cu(2+)-c-mpg-C(3)N(4), was developed for detection of CN(-) in aqueous solution by simply mixing cubic mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (c-mpg-C(3)N(4)) and aqueous solution of Cu(NO(3))(2). The highly sensitive detection of CN(-) with a detection limit of 80 nM is not only possible in aqueous solution but also in human blood serum.

I can Cu: Cubic mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (c‐mpg‐C3N4) is an all‐in‐one chemosensor that plays the roles of ligand, fluorophore, and supporting material, enables the simple detection of metal ions, and is highly selective and sensitive to Cu2+.