Boron doped 1T phase MoS2 as a cocatalyst for promoting photocatalytic H2 evolution of g-C3N4 nanosheets

Abstract

As one of the 2D transition metal sulfides, 1T phase MoS2 nanosheets (NSs) have been studied because of their distinguished conductivity and suitable electronic structure. Nevertheless, the active sites are limited to a small number of edge sites only, while the basal plane is catalytically inert. Herein, we report that boron (B) doped 1T phase MoS2 NSs can replace precious metals as a co-catalyst to assist in photocatalytic H2 production of 2D layered g-C3N4 nanosheets (g-C3N4 NSs). The H2 evolution rate of prepared B-MoS2@g-C3N4 composites with 15 wt% B-MoS2 (B-MoS2@g-C3N4–15, 1612.75 µmol h−1 g−1) is 52.33 times of pure g-C3N4 NSs (30.82 µmol h−1 g−1). Furthermore, the apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of B-MoS2@g-C3N4–15 composites under the light at λ = 370 nm is calculated and reaches 5.54%. The excellent photocatalytic performance of B-MoS2@g-C3N4–15 composites is attributed to the B ions doping inducing the distortion of 1T phase MoS2 crystal, which can activate more base planes to offer more active sites for H2 evolution reaction (HER). This work of B-MoS2@g-C3N4 composites offers experience in the progress of effective and low-price photocatalysts for HER.