The photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to energy-rich hydrocarbon fuels is a promising and sustainable method of addressing global warming and the imminent energy crisis concomitantly. However, a vast majority of the exi...The photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to energy-rich hydrocarbon fuels is a promising and sustainable method of addressing global warming and the imminent energy crisis concomitantly. However, a vast majority of the existing photocatalysts are only capable of harnessing ultraviolet （UV） or/and visible light （Vis）, whereas the near-infrared （NIR） region still remains unexplored. In this study, carbon quantum dots （CQDs）-decorated ultrathin BizWO6 nanosheets （UBW） were demonstrated to be an efficient photocatalyst for CO2 photoreduction over the Vis-NIR broad spectrum. It is noteworthy that the synthesis procedure of the CQDs/UBW hybrid nanocomposites was highly facile, involving a one-pot hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide （CTAB）-assisted hydrothermal process. Under visible light irradiation, the optimized 1CQDsAJBW （1 wt.% CQD content） exhibited a remarkable 9.5-fold and 3.1-fold enhancement of CH4 production over pristine Bi2WO6 nanoplatelets （PBW） and bare UBW, respectively. More importantly, the photocatalytic responsiveness of CQDs/UBW was successfully extended to the NIR region, which was achieved without involving any rare earth or noble metals. The realization of NIR-driven CO2 reduction could be attributed to the synergistic effects of （i） the ultrathin nanostructures and highly exposed {001} active facets of UBW, （ii） the excellent spectral coupling of UBW and CQDs, where UBW could be excited by the up-converted photoluminescence of CQDs, and （iii） the electron-withdrawing nature of the CQDs to trap the photogenerated electrons and retard the recombination of charge carriers.展开更多
文摘The photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to energy-rich hydrocarbon fuels is a promising and sustainable method of addressing global warming and the imminent energy crisis concomitantly. However, a vast majority of the existing photocatalysts are only capable of harnessing ultraviolet （UV） or/and visible light （Vis）, whereas the near-infrared （NIR） region still remains unexplored. In this study, carbon quantum dots （CQDs）-decorated ultrathin BizWO6 nanosheets （UBW） were demonstrated to be an efficient photocatalyst for CO2 photoreduction over the Vis-NIR broad spectrum. It is noteworthy that the synthesis procedure of the CQDs/UBW hybrid nanocomposites was highly facile, involving a one-pot hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide （CTAB）-assisted hydrothermal process. Under visible light irradiation, the optimized 1CQDsAJBW （1 wt.% CQD content） exhibited a remarkable 9.5-fold and 3.1-fold enhancement of CH4 production over pristine Bi2WO6 nanoplatelets （PBW） and bare UBW, respectively. More importantly, the photocatalytic responsiveness of CQDs/UBW was successfully extended to the NIR region, which was achieved without involving any rare earth or noble metals. The realization of NIR-driven CO2 reduction could be attributed to the synergistic effects of （i） the ultrathin nanostructures and highly exposed {001} active facets of UBW, （ii） the excellent spectral coupling of UBW and CQDs, where UBW could be excited by the up-converted photoluminescence of CQDs, and （iii） the electron-withdrawing nature of the CQDs to trap the photogenerated electrons and retard the recombination of charge carriers.
