Synergistic interaction and chemically bonded association between ZIF-8 and C-doped g-C3N4 for enhancement of visible light photocatalytic H2O2 production

g-C3N4 has recently emerged as a promising visible light-driven non-metal, and sustainable-based photocatalyst for various photocatalytic reactions. Nevertheless, intrinsic limitations such as insufficient light-harvesting ability, minimal surface area, and the sluggish photogenerated charge efficiency of the bulk g-C3N4 photocatalyst have hampered its photocatalytic performance, especially in the production of H2O2. Herein, the association between zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) and carbon-doped g-C3N4 (CCN)-derived from kapok fiber, as a chemically bonded nanocomposite photocatalyst (ZIF-8/CCN), was successfully constructed via a facile hydrothermal technique. XRD, FTIR, and XPS analyses revealed that ZIF-8 and CCN were chemically bonded via π–π stacking and hydrogen bond interactions. The in-situ carbon doping and microtubular structure of CCN derived from kapok fiber have significantly improved the chemically bonded nanocomposite photocatalyst’s charge separation and photon absorption abilities. The designated chemically bonded ZIF-8/CCN nanocomposite photocatalyst exhibits outstanding photocatalytic H2O2 production due to the synergistic effect of carbon dopant, unique morphology, together with a large surface area, and chemically mediated excellent charge separation of ZIF-8/CCN. The findings of this study will offer a more efficient nanoarchitecture for g-C3N4 photocatalysts based on morphology modulation, in-situ carbon doping, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) association for solar fuel production.