LAUSR

Abstract Mesoporous nanomaterials not only possess strong ability to adsorb and interact with guest species both on their outer and inner surfaces, but also exhibit nanoscale effects in their channels and on the walls of their pores. This opens up intriguing possibilities for the design of highly activity catalysts by means of mesoporous materials. Here we present a facile method for the in-situ incorporation of carbon dots into mesoporous nickel boride and their subsequent use as photcatalysts. In addition to promoting photogenerated charge separation and transfer in the resultant system, carbon dots can also alter the band edge positions and surface electronegativity of nickel boride, thus significantly enhancing the processes involved in heterogeneous catalytic reaction. Our prepared samples exhibit remarkably enhanced activity for catalytic conversion of nitrobenzene derivatives under visible light irradiation.