Heteroatom
Nitrogen- and Boron-Doping as a Facile
Strategy to Improve Photocatalytic Activity of Standalone Reduced
Graphene Oxide in Hydrogen Evolution
Owing
to its superior properties and versatility, graphene has
been proliferating the energy research scene in the past decade. In
this contribution, nitrogen (N-) and boron (B-) doped reduced graphene
oxide (rGO) variants were investigated as a sole photocatalyst for
the green production of H<sub>2</sub> and their properties with respect
to photocatalysis were elucidated for the first time. N- and B-rGOs
were facilely prepared via the pyrolysis of graphene oxide with urea
and boron anhydride as their respective dopant source. The pyrolysis
temperature was varied (600–800 °C for N-rGO and 800–1000
°C for B-rGO) in order to modify dopant loading percentage (%)
which was found to be influential to photocatalytic activity. N-rGO600
(8.26 N at%) and B-rGO1000 (3.59 B at%), which holds the highest at%
from each of their party, exhibited the highest H<sub>2</sub> activity.
Additionally, the effects of the nature of N and B bonding configuration
in H<sub>2</sub> photoactivity were also examined. This study demonstrates
the importance of dopant atoms in graphene, rendering doping as an
effective strategy to bolster photocatalytic activity for standalone
graphene derivative photocatalysts