In Situ Metal‐Oxygen‐Hydrogen Modified B‐Tio2@Co2P‐X S‐Scheme Heterojunction Effectively Enhanced Charge Separation for Photo‐assisted Uranium Reduction

Abstract

Abstract Photo‐assisted uranium reduction from uranium mine wastewater is expected to overcome the competition between impurity ions and U(VI) in the traditional process. Here, B‐TiO2@Co2P‐X S‐scheme heterojunction with metal‐oxygen‐hydrogen (M‐O‐H) is developed insitu modification for photo‐assisted U(VI) (hexavalent uranium) reduction. Relying on the DFT calculation and Hard‐Soft‐Acid‐Base (HSAB) theory, the introduction of metal‐oxygen‐hydrogen (M‐O‐H, hard base) metallic bonds in the B‐TiO2@Co2P‐X is found to enhance the hydrophilicity and the capture capability for uranyl ion (hard acid). Accordingly, B‐TiO2@Co2P‐500 hybrid nanosheets exhibit excellent U(VI) reduction ability (>98%) in the presence of competing ions. By self‐consistent energy band calculations and in‐situ KPFM spectral analysis, the formation of the internal electric field between B‐TiO2 and Co2P at the heterojunction is proven, offering a strong driving force and atomic transportation highway for accelerating the S‐scheme charge carriers directed migration and promoting the photocatalytic reduction of uranium. This work provides a valuable route to explore the functionally modified photocatalyst with high‐efficiency photoelectron separation for U(VI) reduction.

Keywords

• M‐O‐H
• photocatalysis
• S‐scheme heterojunction
• titanium dioxide
• uranium reduction