Construction of layered h-BN/TiO2 hetero-structure and probing of the synergetic photocatalytic effect

A novel layered hexagonal boron nitride/titanium dioxide (h-BN/TiO2) composite photocatalyst has been constructed by anchoring TiO2 nanoflakes on the surface of h-BN flakes via a solvothermal method. The morphology and dispersion of TiO2 can be tuned by controlling the amount of flake h-BN. Benefiting from the unique hetero-structure, the photocatalytic performance of the obtained composite toward rhodamine B (RhB) degradation is greatly enhanced, among which 12 wt% h-BN/TiO2 composites show 3.5 and 6.9 times higher degradation rate than the synthesized TiO2 and commercial TiO2 (P25), respectively, and an excellent cycling stability has also been obtained. Moreover, the first-principles calculation reveals the synergetic catalytic effect between TiO2 and h-BN flake, which is found to be responsible for the significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance of h-BN/TiO2 composites.