Interfacial Engineering of Boron Carbonitride via Tuning Layers for Enhanced Solar Water Oxidation

Interfacial Engineering of Boron Carbonitride via Tuning Layers for Enhanced Solar Water Oxidation Full article

Journal

Carbon
ISSN: 0008-6223 , E-ISSN: 1873-3891

Output data

Year: 2026, Volume: 246, Article number : 120926, Pages count : 10 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.120926

Tags

One-stop approach; Boron carbonitride nanowalls; Tuning layer; Photoelectrochemical water oxidation

Authors

Wu Lin ¹ , Belaya Svetlana V. ² , Li Lixiang ¹ , Maksimovskiy Eugene A. ² , Kolodin Alexei N. ² , Asanov Igor P. ² , Plekhanov Alexandr G. ² , Korolkov Ilya V. ² , Zhang Han ¹ , Kosinova Marina L. ² , An Baigang ¹

Affiliations

1	Key Laboratory of Energy Materials and Electrochemistry Research Liaoning Province, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning
2	Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS

Metal-free boron carbonitride (BCN) has attracted considerable interest for photoelectrochemical water splitting applications. However, its utility is limited by inadequate charge carrier transport, serious charge recombination and suboptimal surface catalytic activity. Herein, we propose a novel boron carbon (BCx) tuning layer strategy to address these limitations. By employing an integrated one-stop approach, BCN nanowalls are vertically grown on BCx film surfaces via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for fabrication photoelectrodes. Experimental analyses and band structure studies confirm that the BCx tuning layer not only promotes the formation of vertically aligned BCN nanowall arrays, but also serves as an efficient electron transfer pathway for photogenerated electrons. This inhibits charge recombination and enhances charge separation, thereby making more holes available as active sites for photoelectrochemical reactions. Consequently, the BCN/BCx photoanode achieves a water oxidation photocurrent of 0.82 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V, a 4.6 times improvement over pristine BCN. Furthermore, the BCN/BCx photoanode demonstrates remarkable stability, maintaining a steady photocurrent under continuous illumination for 100 h. This innovative tuning layer strategy offers promising prospects for advanced applications in catalysis, sensors, transistors and beyond.

Wu L. , Belaya S.V. , Li L. , Maksimovskiy E.A. , Kolodin A.N. , Asanov I.P. , Plekhanov A.G. , Korolkov I.V. , Zhang H. , Kosinova M.L. , An B.
Interfacial Engineering of Boron Carbonitride via Tuning Layers for Enhanced Solar Water Oxidation
Carbon. 2026. V.246. 120926 :1-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2025.120926 OpenAlex

Submitted:	Jul 21, 2025
Accepted:	Sep 12, 2025
Published online:	Oct 10, 2025
Published print:	Jan 5, 2026

OpenAlex:

W4415062581

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