Black phosphorus: A promising two dimensional visible and near-infrared-activated photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution

The search for active photocatalyfts that directly split water to hydrogen (H-2) under visible and near infrared (NIR) light irradiation remains one of the most challenging tasks for solar energy utilization. Here we report that two dimensional (20) black phosphorus (BP) nanoflakes can harness visible and NIR light for H-2 evolution. In the presence of reduced graphene oxide and Pt nanoparticles, ca. 5.13 and 1.26 mu mol H-2 were obtained after excited BP nanoflakes under >420 nm and >780 nm irradiation for 4h, respectively. The apparent quantum efficiencies (AQEs) were as high as approximately 8.7% at 420 +/- 5 nm (visible) and 1.5% at 780 +/- 5 nm (NIR), respectively. These results indicate that 2D BP can be used as visible- and NIR-activated elemental photocatalyst in artificial photosynthesis and renewable energy conversion. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.