Engineering black phosphorus to porous g-C3N4-metal–organic framework membrane: a platform for highly boosting photocatalytic performance

Abstract

A black phosphorus (BP)/porous g-C₃N₄ (PCN)-metal–organic framework (MOF) heterojunction was successfully fabricated as a unique macroscopic photocatalytic membrane material. BP was applied for the treatment of air pollution and in a water splitting system. The nanocomposite exhibited extremely high photocatalytic activity in the removal of NO at the ppb-level (600 ppb) under visible-light irradiation with an efficiency reaching 74%, which is much higher than that of reported g-C₃N₄-related heterojunctions. In addition, the BP/PCN hybrid exhibited an outstanding photocatalytic H₂ evolution activity and an efficiency reaching 7380 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹, which is 9.5 times higher than that of pure PCN. First-principles calculations also revealed distinctive interfacial electron–hole migration in the BP/PCN heterojunction. Moreover, the stability and recyclability of the photocatalytic membrane demonstrated its promise in the photocatalytic field as well as in solving energy issues and environmental remediation applications.