Schottky Junction-Driven Photocatalytic Effect in Boron-Doped Diamond-Graphene Core-Shell Nanoarchitectures: An sp3/sp2 Framework for Environmental Remediation

Self-formation of boron-doped diamond (BDD)-multilayer graphene (MLG) core-shell nanowalls (BDGNWs) via microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is systematically investigated. Here, the incorporation of nitrogen brings out the origin of MLG shells encapsulating the diamond core, resulting in unique sp3/sp2 hybridized frameworks. The evolution mechanism of the nanowall-like morphology with the BDD-MLG core-shell composition is elucidated through a variety of spectroscopic studies. The photocatalytic performance of these core-shell nanowalls is examined by the deterioration of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) dyes beneath low-power ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. Starting with 5 ppm dye solutions and employing BDGNWs as the photocatalyst, remarkable degradation efficiencies of 95% for MB within 100 min and 91% for RhB within 220 min are achieved. The effect of varying dye concentrations was also examined. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is driven by carrier photogeneration and mediated by the Schottky junction formed between BDD and MLG, promoting efficient photoinduced charge separation. The stability of the BDGNW photocatalyst is examined, and after five test runs, the photocatalytic behavior for MB and RhB degradation decreases to 87 and 85%, respectively, from initial values of 96 and 91%, demonstrating excellent photostability. These findings underscore the significance of diamond-graphene nanoarchitectures as promising green carbonaceous photocatalysts.