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Novel graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) microrods were prepared by chemical method via pre-treatment of melamine and molar solution of HNO3 at a lower temperature. The phase and morphological structure was examined by XRD and SEM, while elemental composition was found by performing EDX spectroscopy. SEM results revealed that the as-prepared g-C3N4 materials has rods like morphology with average length 3–5 µm. Furthermore, the vibrational modes were studied by FTIR, and optical properties were analyzed by UV–Vis and PL spectroscopy respectively. The optical measurements showed that the band gap of g-C3N4 microrods was 2.70 eV which make them useful for photocatalytic process under visible light. The blue PL emission at 455 nm was ascribed to band-to-band transition which also confirms the activation of g-C3N4 microrods in visible spectrum range. Finally, g-C3N4 microrods were utilized as photocatalyst for the decomposition of hazardous Methyl Orange (MO) dye, and the results showed that they exhibited excellent performance (k = 0.026 min−1) visible light irradiation. Keywords: Graphitic carbon nitride, Melamine, Microrods, Photocatalyst