Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Boron Doped Silicon Carbide Nanofibers and Its Composite with Polyvinyl Borate

Abstract

Boron doped silicon carbide (B-SiC) and its composite with polyvinyl borate (PVB) were studied due to the role of boron acting as an electron-acceptor, which can reduce the recombination rate of the photoinduced electron-hole pair on SiC upon UV light irradiation. The structure and morphology of SiC and B-SiC, and their PVB composites were characterized by FTIR, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The optical property and the band gap energy of the as prepared samples were evaluated from UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. When compared to SiC and PVB/SiC, boron doped SiC and its PVB composite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity toward the model dye (methylene blue) degradation owing to the effective separation of the photoinduced electron-hole pair on the photocatalyst nanofibers.