Facile synthesis of B and P doped g-C3N4 for enhanced synergetic activity between photocatalytic water splitting and BPA degradation

A facile construction of B and P doped carbon nitride as a potential photo-catalyst for splitting water to generate hydrogen or oxygen and BPA removal under visible light. B and P doping are confirmed by a series of characterizations. As the symmetrical p-conjugated rings of g-C3N4 could be destroyed by B and P doping to enhance the visible-light absorbance and n -> pi* electronic transition to provide a new pathway for the directional separation of photoexcited electrons to boost the photocatalytic activity. Significantly, the CN-BP catalyst demonstrates excellent H-2 and O-2 evolution rates of 4.0 mmolH(2) h(-1) g(-1) and 0.3 mmolO(2) h(-1) g(-1) under visible light, which is about -3.8 and 21.6 times higher than that of g-C3N4, respectively. Notably, without sacrificial agent, the CN-BP could remove BPA completely by oxidation to generate 30 mmol h(-1) g(-1) H-2. Both DFT calculations and characteristic results reveal that B and P doped carbon nitride reduce band gap energy, improve light harvesting and separation rate of electron-holes carriers for upgrading the photocatalytic activity. (c) 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.