Novel B-N-Co surface bonding states constructed on hollow tubular boron doped g-C3N4/CoP for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution

Abstract Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is a promising photocatalyst for water hydrogen evolution. Nonetheless, fast recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and the slow kinetics of hydrogen production result in the unsatisfactory efficiency of solar hydrogen production. we address this issue by anchoring the cobalt phosphide (CoP) cocatalyst onto the one-dimensional boron doped g-C3N4 nanotube (B-CNNT) to construct B-N-Co surface bonding states in the B-CNNT/CoP photocatalyst. Spectroscopic measurement and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that the B-N-Co bonds optimize the local electronic distribution of bonded Co and adjacent P atoms, strengthen the electrons’ delocalization capacity of Co atoms for high electrical conductivity and accelerate the photogenerated carrier transfer between B-CNNT and CoP, which lead to the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the B-CNNT/CoP photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution. B-CNNT/CoP-2.45% achieved a remarkable photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of 784 μmol g-1h−1 with an apparent quantum efficiency of 5.32% at 420 nm, which is significantly higher than demonstrated by CNNT/CoP-2.45% (153 μmol g-1h−1). Our findings provide insights into as well as establish theoretical and practical grounds for the development of low-cost, high-performance photocatalytic materials for hydrogen evolution.