Carbon-doped boron nitride nanosheets with adjustable band structure for efficient photocatalytic U(VI) reduction under visible light

Effectively separating uranium from aqueous solution is pivotal in the sustainable development of the nuclear industry and environmental protection. In this work, non-metal photocatalysts, carbon-doped BN (BCN) nanosheets were used to extract uranium by the photocatalytic reduction technique, and the doping in the form of carbon rings can regulate the bandgap and electronic structure by manipulating carbon amount. Benefiting from the porous structure and strong visible-light absorption, the U(VI) separation ratio of 97.4% could be achieved after 1.5-hour visible irradiation with an apparent rate value of 2.97 h−1 over BCN-80. Additionally, BCN-80 displayed good reusability and stability with the U(VI) separation ratio > 90% even after five cycles, and the enhanced U(VI) photoreduction was attributed to the synergistic effect of photoinduced electrons and formed ketyl radicals. This work demonstrates the great potential of BCN materials in U(VI) enrichment and will lay the foundation for further developing novel semiconductor photocatalysts.