Boosting photocatalytic CO2 reduction via Schottky junction with ZnCr layered double hydroxide nanoflakes aggregated on 2D Ti3C2Tx cocatalyst

Boye Zhou; Yong Yang; Zhengchu Liu; Niandu Wu; Yuxiang Yan; Zhao Wenhua; Huichao He; Jun Du; Yongcai Zhang; Yong Zhou; Zhigang Zou

doi:10.1039/D2NR01448C

Boosting photocatalytic CO₂ reduction via Schottky junction with ZnCr layered double hydroxide nanoflakes aggregated on 2D Ti₃C₂T_x cocatalyst†

Boye Zhou,^ab Yong Yang,

*^c Zhengchu Liu,^ab Niandu Wu,^a Yuxiang Yan,^a Zhao Wenhua,^a Huichao He,^d Jun Du,^a Yongcai Zhang,

^e Yong Zhou

*^abf and Zhigang Zou^abf

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, School of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, P. R. China
E-mail: zhouyong1999@nju.edu.cn

^b Eco-Materials and Renewable Energy Research Center (ERERC), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Nano Technology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

^c Key Laboratory of Soft Chemistry and Functional Materials (MOE), Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China
E-mail: yychem@njust.edu.cn

^d Institute of Environmental Energy Materials and Intelligent Devices, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China

^e Yangzhou University, School of Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou 225002, P. R. China

^f School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hongkong (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Guangdong 518172, China

Abstract

Designing efficient photocatalysts is vital for the photoreduction of CO₂ to produce solar fuels, helping to alleviate issues of fossil fuel depletion and global warming. In this work, a novel ZnCr-LDH/Ti₃C₂T_x Schottky junction is successfully synthesized using an in situ coprecipitation method. ZnCr-LDH nanoflakes collectively grow on the surface of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene nanosheets. When using Ti₃C₂T_x MXene as a cocatalyst in the prepared heterojunction, the light absorption intensity, photo-induced electron separation and migration efficiency increase. As a result, the composite ZnCr-LDH/Ti₃C₂T_x results in significant improvement in the performance of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction under simulated solar irradiation. The optimized sample ZCTC25 has the highest photocatalytic CO₂ reduction rates of 122.45 μmol g⁻¹ CO and 19.95 μmol g⁻¹ CH₄ (after 6 h of irradiation). These values are approximately 2.65 times higher than those of pristine ZnCr-LDH. The product selectivity towards CO is 86%. This work provides a new method for the construction of novel 2D semiconductor photocatalysts and enriches the application of an unusual type of layered double hydroxides in the photoreduction of CO₂.

This article is part of the themed collections: CO2 capture and conversion and 2022 Nanoscale HOT Article Collection

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Boosting photocatalytic CO₂ reduction via Schottky junction with ZnCr layered double hydroxide nanoflakes aggregated on 2D Ti₃C₂T_x cocatalyst†

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Boosting photocatalytic CO₂ reduction via Schottky junction with ZnCr layered double hydroxide nanoflakes aggregated on 2D Ti₃C₂T_x cocatalyst

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