Well-designed 3D ZnIn2S4 nanosheets/TiO2 nanobelts as direct Z-scheme photocatalysts for CO2 photoreduction into renewable hydrocarbon fuel with high efficiency

authored by
G. Yang, D. Chen, H. Ding, J. Feng, J.Z. Zhang, Y. Zhu, S. Hamid, D.W. Bahnemann
Abstract

A 3-dimensional (3D) ZnIn

2S

4/TiO

2 Z-scheme system has been designed and constructed for photocatalytic reduction of CO

2 into renewable hydrocarbon fuels without the use of a solid-state electron mediator. The unique 3D morphology, achieved by assembling 2D ZnIn

2S

4 nanosheets onto 1D TiO

2 nanobelts, not only provides large surface area but also improves the separation and transfer efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. The 3D ZnIn

2S

4/TiO

2 Z-scheme photocatalysts show excellent light-harvesting properties demonstrated in photocatalytic reduction of CO

2, resulting in generation of desired hydrocarbons. The CH

4 production rate of the 3D ZnIn

2S

4/TiO

2 can reach up to 1.135 μmol g

−1 h

−1, which is about 39-times higher than that of bare ZnIn

2S

4 (0.029 μmol g

−1 h

−1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to effective separation of the charge carriers between ZnIn

2S

4 and TiO

2 through the direct Z-scheme instead of a type-II heterojunction. The photogenerated electrons in TiO

2 nanobelts recombine with the holes in ZnIn

2S

4 nanosheets, and the unrecombined electrons/holes on different active sites have stronger reduction/oxidation abilities, leading to higher photocatalytic activity for CO

2 reduction.

Organisation(s)
Institute of Technical Chemistry
Type
Article
Journal
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
Volume
219
Pages
611-618
No. of pages
8
ISSN
0926-3373
Publication date
15.12.2017
Publication status
Published
Peer reviewed
Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Catalysis, Environmental Science(all), Process Chemistry and Technology
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
Electronic version(s)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2017.08.016 (Access: Closed)