Black Phosphorus-Based Compound with Few Layers for Photocatalytic Water Oxidation
Résumé
Although black phosphorus (BP) is an interesting 2D nanosheet material with a high hole mobility, its application in the photocatalytic water oxidation for O2 evolution is not reported yet. Herein the use of BP coupled with a reductive hydroxide, Ni(OH)2, is reported for the first time. The developed photo-assisted process confirms that the BP XPS measurements confirm that the oxidation state of BP is reduced through the photo-assisted loading method. The obtained P−Ni(OH)2 samples present the steady and efficient photocatalytic water splitting for O2 generation. Under the simulated sunlight irradiation in 0.1 M Na2S2O4 solution, the O2 generation rate can reach up to 15.7 μmol/(gcatalyst*h) or 224.3 μmol/(gBP*h). The density functional theory (DFT) calculation suggests that the electrons and holes move to surface of BP and Ni(OH)2, respectively. The merit of self-polarization of P−Ni(OH)2 ensures the stability of BP and achieves the photocatalytic O2 generation from water.