Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity of Exfoliated Boron‐TiO2 Composite for Degradation of Rhodamine B and Nitrogen Fixation

Abstract The design of an efficient, recyclable, visible light photocatalytic system was examined as a viable new green way to address environmental challenges such as removal of pollutants from wastewater and N 2 fixation. The exfoliated boron (B exf )‐Titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) composite visible light active photocatalysts were successfully constructed via a simple wet chemical method by utilizing acetone as a solvent. The composite was evaluated for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye and reduction of N 2 , which exhibits improved photocatalytic activity for degradation of RhB as well as for reduction of N 2 . Experiments with different quenchers indicate that the photogenerated superoxide radical anion (O 2 ⋅ − ) plays a significant role in the degradation of RhB as well as for N 2 reduction reactions. The composite catalyst shows good photostability and there is no significant reduction of the catalyst activity for dye degradation up to 4 cycles of reaction. This work affords a significant view into the design of reusable TiO 2 composite materials for photocatalytic RhB degradation and nitrogen fixation.