In-Situ Construction of La-B Co-Doped g-C3N4 for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Production and RhB Degradation

Abstract

Doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has been investigated as the visible light photocatalyst for photocatalytic H2 production and organic pollution removal. The elements doping could change the nanostructures, surface composition, and electronic structures compared to pure g-C3N4. Such changes will provide better light-harvesting, more active sites and enhanced charge separation. In this work, we built the La-B co-doped g-C3N4 by an in-situ growth of g-C3N4 on LaB6. The effect of La-B co-doping on the phase, morphology, light absorption and porous structures is fully characterized to clearly understand the differences in the photocatalytic activities clearly. La and B co-doping introduced defect states and redistribution with suitable redox potentials, benefiting charge separation and photocatalytic reactions. So, the optimal co-doped samples process a higher photocatalytic performance in H2 production and Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation than the pure g-C3N4. The possible valence and conduction band edge positions and photocatalytic mechanism are discussed at last.

Keywords: g-C3N4, photocatalysts, B-doped, La-doped, H2 production