Modification of graphitic carbon nitride by elemental boron cocatalyst with high-efficient charge transfer and photothermal conversion

Abstract

• Elemental boron (EB) was applied as a cocatalyst for photocatalysis. • The photothermal effect of EB lead to the increase of reaction temperature. • Increased temperature resulted in better molecular collision and charge transfer. • The load of EB modulated band structure and enhanced the charge separation. Photocatalysis is considered as a promising method to degrade pollutants with clean and readily available energy source. Great efforts have been devoted to improve solar energy utilization of the photocatalyst. Herein, we report that elemental boron (EB) nanoparticle can act as an advanced bi-functional cocatalyst for photocatalysis with high solar energy utilization. As a photothermal material, EB could convert long-wavelength light energy to heat to increase the reaction temperature and accelerate the photocatalytic reaction. Moreover, the strong electronic interaction between EB and graphitic carbon nitride altered band structure and also suppressed the recombination of charge carriers. Benefiting from these, EB decorated graphitic carbon nitride exhibited dramatic improvement in photocatalytic degradation of sulfamerazine under the simulated sunlight. This work not only reveals the hidden talent of elemental boron as an advanced bi-functional cocatalyst, but also provides an alternative strategy for efficient full-spectrum solar energy conversion.