Advances in Boron Nitride-based Nanomaterials for Environmental Remediation and Water Splitting: a Review

Overview

Journal RSC Adv

Publisher Royal Society of Chemistry

Specialty Chemistry

Date 2024 Jan 23

PMID 38259991

Authors

Vishal Gadore

Soumya Ranjan Mishra

Ashish Kumar Singh

Md Ahmaruzzaman

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Boron nitride has gained wide-spread attention globally owing to its outstanding characteristics, such as a large surface area, high thermal resistivity, great mechanical strength, low density, and corrosion resistance. This review compiles state-of-the-art synthesis techniques, including mechanical exfoliation, chemical exfoliation, chemical vapour deposition (CVD), and green synthesis for the fabrication of hexagonal boron nitride and its composites, their structural and chemical properties, and their applications in hydrogen production and environmental remediation. Additionally, the adsorptive and photocatalytic properties of boron nitride-based nanocomposites for the removal of heavy metals, dyes, and pharmaceuticals from contaminated waters are discussed. Lastly, the scope of future research, including the facile synthesis and large-scale applicability of boron nitride-based nanomaterials for wastewater treatment, is presented. This review is expected to deliver preliminary knowledge of the present state and properties of boron nitride-based nanomaterials, encouraging the future study and development of these materials for their applications in various fields.

Citing Articles

Boron Nitride-Supported Metal Catalysts for the Synthesis and Decomposition of Ammonia and Formic Acid.

Yruela-Garrido M, Campos-Castellanos E, Morales M, Rodriguez-Ramos I, Guerrero-Ruiz A Nanomaterials (Basel). 2025; 15(3).

PMID: 39940188 PMC: 11819914. DOI: 10.3390/nano15030212.

Novel BN-COOH@ZrO/GO Composite for Enhanced Electrical Conductivity and Electrochemical Detection of Diclofenac.

Kumar V, Singh A, Tiwari I, Mishra L ACS Omega. 2025; 10(1):1373-1387.

PMID: 39829450 PMC: 11739948. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c08966.

Effects of Phosphorus Doping on Amorphous Boron Nitride's Chemical, Sorptive, Optoelectronic, and Photocatalytic Properties.

Itskou I, Kafizas A, Nevjestic I, Carrero S, Grinter D, Azzan H J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces. 2024; 128(31):13249-13263.

PMID: 39140095 PMC: 11317980. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c02314.

References

Gadore V, Mishra S, Ahmaruzzaman M . One-pot synthesis of CdS/CeO heterojunction nanocomposite with tunable bandgap for the enhanced advanced oxidation process. Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):7708. PMC: 10182039. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34742-3. View

Giles A, Dai S, Vurgaftman I, Hoffman T, Liu S, Lindsay L . Ultralow-loss polaritons in isotopically pure boron nitride. Nat Mater. 2017; 17(2):134-139. DOI: 10.1038/nmat5047. View

Qiu Y, Yu J, Yin J, Tan C, Zhou X, Bai X . Synthesis of continuous boron nitride nanofibers by solution coating electrospun template fibers. Nanotechnology. 2009; 20(34):345603. DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/20/34/345603. View

Wang J, Tsuzuki T, Tang B, Hou X, Sun L, Wang X . Reduced graphene oxide/ZnO composite: reusable adsorbent for pollutant management. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2012; 4(6):3084-90. DOI: 10.1021/am300445f. View

Cheng C, Fang W, Long R, Prezhdo O . Water Splitting with a Single-Atom Cu/TiO Photocatalyst: Atomistic Origin of High Efficiency and Proposed Enhancement by Spin Selection. JACS Au. 2021; 1(5):550-559. PMC: 8395698. DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.1c00004. View

Ci L, Song L, Jin C, Jariwala D, Wu D, Li Y . Atomic layers of hybridized boron nitride and graphene domains. Nat Mater. 2010; 9(5):430-5. DOI: 10.1038/nmat2711. View

Xie Y, Yuan X, Wu Z, Zeng G, Jiang L, Peng X . Adsorption behavior and mechanism of Mg/Fe layered double hydroxide with FeO-carbon spheres on the removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II). J Colloid Interface Sci. 2018; 536:440-455. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2018.10.066. View

Khalid A, Ahmad P, Khan A, Khandaker M, Kebaili I, Alam M . Cytotoxic and photocatalytic studies of hexagonal boron nitride nanotubes: a potential candidate for wastewater and air treatment. RSC Adv. 2022; 12(11):6592-6600. PMC: 8981971. DOI: 10.1039/d2ra00300g. View

Grant J, Carrero C, Goeltl F, Venegas J, Mueller P, Burt S . Selective oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene using boron nitride catalysts. Science. 2016; 354(6319):1570-1573. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf7885. View

10.

Gao X, Huang X, Lin J, Yu C, Tang C, Huang Y . Porous boron nitride nanofibers enhanced sodium acrylate and acrylamide copolymer hydrogels for effective adsorption of Pb. Soft Matter. 2023; 19(5):973-982. DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01341j. View

11.

Cai J, Huang J, Wang S, Iocozzia J, Sun Z, Sun J . Crafting Mussel-Inspired Metal Nanoparticle-Decorated Ultrathin Graphitic Carbon Nitride for the Degradation of Chemical Pollutants and Production of Chemical Resources. Adv Mater. 2019; 31(15):e1806314. DOI: 10.1002/adma.201806314. View

12.

Raha S, Mohanta D, Ahmaruzzaman M . Novel CuO/MnO/ZnO nanocomposite with superior photocatalytic activity for removal of Rabeprazole from water. Sci Rep. 2021; 11(1):15187. PMC: 8313665. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94066-y. View

13.

Sharma M, Jain C, Singhal D, Choubey V . Kinetics of sorption of lead on bed sediments of River Hindon, India. Environ Monit Assess. 2008; 157(1-4):11-21. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-008-0510-4. View

14.

Ling L, Liu W, Zhang S, Jiang H . Magnesium Oxide Embedded Nitrogen Self-Doped Biochar Composites: Fast and High-Efficiency Adsorption of Heavy Metals in an Aqueous Solution. Environ Sci Technol. 2017; 51(17):10081-10089. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b02382. View

15.

Gadore V, Mishra S, Ahmaruzzaman M . Metal sulphides and their heterojunctions for photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes-A comprehensive review. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023; 30(39):90410-90457. DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-28753-w. View

16.

Peng J, Wang S, Zhang P, Jiang L, Shi J, Zhu J . Fabrication of graphene quantum dots and hexagonal boron nitride nanocomposites for fluorescent cell imaging. J Biomed Nanotechnol. 2013; 9(10):1679-85. DOI: 10.1166/jbn.2013.1663. View

17.

Zhu M, Lee L, Wang H, Wang Z . Removal of an anionic dye by adsorption/precipitation processes using alkaline white mud. J Hazard Mater. 2007; 149(3):735-41. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.04.037. View

18.

Gao S, Feng T, Feng C, Shang N, Wang C . Novel visible-light-responsive Ag/AgCl@MIL-101 hybrid materials with synergistic photocatalytic activity. J Colloid Interface Sci. 2016; 466:284-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2015.12.045. View

19.

Humphrey W, Dalke A, Schulten K . VMD: visual molecular dynamics. J Mol Graph. 1996; 14(1):33-8, 27-8. DOI: 10.1016/0263-7855(96)00018-5. View

20.

Bhagya T, Krishnan A, Rajan S A, M A, Sreelekshmy B, Jineesh P . Exploration and evaluation of proton source-assisted photocatalyst for hydrogen generation. Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2019; 18(7):1716-1726. DOI: 10.1039/c9pp00119k. View