Roles of Zn Single Atom Over Carbon Nitride-Based Heterojunction in Boosting Photogenerated Carrier Transfer

Abstract

To promote migration of photogenerated carriers, a heterojunction of Zn single atom (Zn SA) anchored defective carbon nitride (CN)/black phosphorus nanosheets (Bpn) named as ZCB is constructed. Characterization results show that the Zn is coordinated with nitrogen to form Zn-N4 active sites. The introduction of Zn SAs can improve the photogenerated carrier migration via constructing an effective channel, simultaneously, the Bpn can extend light absorption range and further improve the carrier transfer. This synergetic effect would accelerate the formation of active species to achieve excellent degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) under visible light irradiation (k = 0.0603 min-1). Additionally, the photogenerated electron can be transferred to Br atoms in TBBPA via Zn SAs to induce direct debromination reaction. This study provides an alternative strategy to synthesize Zn SAs anchored carbon nitride materials and offers a facile design to address photocatalytic obstacles via the combination of single atom and heterojunction.