Oxygen vacancy rich α-MnO2 @B/O-g-C3N4 photocatalyst: A thriving 1D-2D surface interaction effective towards photocatalytic O2 and H2 evolution through Z-scheme charge dynamics

Abstract

Herein, we have prepared a 1D-2D junction based Oxygen Vacancy rich α-MnO2@B/O-g-C3N4 photocatalyst by using 1D α-MnO2 nanorods over 2D nanosheets of boron, oxygen co-doped exfoliated graphitic carbon nitride (BOCN). The important feature of the above composite material is the availability of oxygen vacancy as well as the presence of dual oxidation state of Mn (Mn4+, Mn3+) which enhances surface activity as well as chemical reaction output of the material. Among the synthesized materials α-MnO2@B/O-g-C3N4 (MBOCN-20) shows best photocatalytic activity by following Z-Scheme charge dynamics towards water oxidation (295.1 μmol h−1) and reduction (560.1 μmol h−1) reactions in presence of methanol (hole scavenger) and AgNO3 (electron scavenger) as sacrificial agent. However, 44.2 and 86.5 μmol h−1 of O2 and H2 evolution was observed in absence of any sacrificial agent. This analysis will confer a valuable blue-print to construct stimulating photocatalysts to achieve the paramount performance towards photocatalytic water redox reaction.