High
photoinduced charge-carrier-separation efficiency plays a
crucial factor in determining the photocatalytic activities of photocatalysts,
and it remains challenging to steer the charge separation in an accurate
manner. Herein, we address this important challenge by growing the
Co2P cocatalyst onto the edges of black phosphorus (BP)
nanosheets to craft Co–P bonds in the Co2P/BP nanosheets
photocatalyst. As demonstrated by the photocurrent measurement and
first-principle calculation, the Co–P bonds acting to faciliate
atomic-level charge-flow steering can improve the photogenerated charge-carrier
transfer between BP nanosheets and the Co2P cocatalyst,
resulting in the improved photocatalytic performance of the Co2P/BP photocatalyst for H2 generation. As expected,
the photocatalytic H2 generation rate of the Co2P/BP nanosheets photocatalyst is 39.7 times greater than that of
bare BP nanosheets. Moreover, the Co2P grown on the edges
of BP nanosheets inhibits the degradation of the BP nanosheets, resulting
in its good stability for photocatalytic H2 production.
Exploiting
an appropriate strategy to prepare fine crystal quality
black phosphorus nanosheet (BPNS) catalyst is a major challenge for
its practical application in catalysis. Herein, we address this challenge
by developing a rapid electrochemical expansion strategy for scale
preparation of fine crystal quality BPNSs from bulk black phosphorus,
which was demonstrated to be an active cocatalyst for photocatalytic
nitrogen fixation in the presence of CdS as a photocatalyst. The transient
photocurrent and charge density studies show that the BPNSs can efficiently
accelerate charge separation of CdS, leading to the enhanced photocatalytic
activities of BPNS/CdS nanocomposites for nitrogen fixation. The 1.5%
BPNS/CdS photocatalyst exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity
for nitrogen fixation with an NH3 evolution rate of 57.64
μmol·L–1·h–1.
This study not only affords a rapid and simple strategy for scale
synthesis of fine crystal quality BPNSs but also provides new insights
into the design and development of black phosphorus-based materials
as low-cost metal-free cocatalysts for photocatalytic nitrogen fixation.
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