Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production by Boron Modified TiO 2 /Carbon Nitride Heterojunctions

Boron‐doped anatase TiO 2 particles were effectively coupled with carbon nitride (CN) forming nanocomposites. The materials were fully characterized by DR‐UV‐Vis, N 2 adsorption‐desorption isotherms, XRD, Raman, FTIR, TGA, XPS, TEM, electron energy loss spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy (EPR) spectroscopy. The developed heterojunctions were applied as photocatalysts for hydrogen (H 2 ) evolution by the photoreforming process of ethanol under solar irradiation, using minimal amount of Pt nanoparticles (0.1 wt. %) as co‐catalyst. The effects of boron addition and CN content were evaluated and optimized nanocomposite presented 85 % increase in H 2 evolution compared with the pure anatase TiO 2 catalyst. The observed higher H 2 evolution rates were ascribed to improvements in charge formation and separation efficiency due to the B‐dopant and the presence of CN.