RESUMEN
A series of 2D/2D exfoliated boron nitride/exfoliated g-C3N4 nanocomposites denoted as e-BN/e-CN have been successfully prepared using a simple in situ technique. The successful deposition of e-BN on e-CN was confirmed from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis. According to electrochemical measurements, 1.5 wt % e-BN/e-CN nanocomposites showed 1.5 times more photocurrent than e-CN, which indicates the successful formation of an e-BN/e-CN heterostructure. The photocatalytic activities of the e-CN and e-BN/e-CN composites were investigated through photocatalytic tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) degradation and H2 evolution under visible light illumination. The 1.5 wt % e-BN/e-CN composite demonstrated the highest photocatalytic activities, which are about 21 and 1.5 fold greater than e-CN towards H2 generation with an apparent conversion efficiency of 2.34% and TCH degradation, respectively. The improved photocatalytic activities of e-BN/e-CN photocatalysts were ascribed to the augmented light-harvesting ability and enhanced separation efficiency of charge carriers. Lower photoluminescence intensity and a smaller arc value in the impedance spectra again proved the reduced recombination of the e--h+ pairs in the e-BN/e-CN nanocomposites. Trapping experiments show that â¢O2-, h+, and â¢OH radicals are the predominant reactive species that accelerated the photocatalytic activities of e-BN/e-CN composites. This study opens up a new window towards the fabrication of such 2D/2D nanocomposites in the field of photocatalysis.
RESUMEN
Antibiotic contaminants have received much attention due to the increasing serious environmental concerns. In this work, for the first time, we have fabricated a series of significant type-II p-n heterostructure with Z-scheme charge transfer between p-type B-doped g-C3N4 with different proportion of n-type BN through a simple in-situ growth process. PXRD, FTIR, UV-Vis, FESEM, HRTEM and EIS analysis were applied for the detailed characterization of the as-prepared composites to study the crystal phase, structural features, optical and electrical properties. The photocatalytic behaviour of BN/BCN photocatalyst was investigated by the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride under solar light illumination. Experimental results revealed that about 88.1% of TCH was degraded by the BN/BCN composite containing 4 wt% BN in the BN/BCN matrix, in 60 min of solar light irradiation. Reduction in recombination rate of photo generated electron-hole pair's and enhanced visible light absorption ability is credited to the enhanced photocatalytic performance of BN/BCN composite. Trapping experiment for the scavenging agents has confirmed that superoxide (O2¯) and hydroxyl (OH) radicals are the main reactive species during the TCH degradation process. The high stability shown by the BN/BCN composite opens a new path for designing of significant BN based Z-scheme photocatalyst for prevention of environmental issues.