A study on the role of plasmonic Ti3C2Tx MXene in enhancing photoredox catalysis

Abstract

Engineering the spatial separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers has been one of the most enduring research topics in the field of photocatalysis due to its crucial role in determining the performances of photocatalysts. Herein, as a proof-of-concept, Ti₃C₂T_x MXene is coupled with a typical heterojunction of TiO₂@CdS through a co-assembly strategy to boost electron pumping towards improving the photocatalytic efficiency. In addition to the band alignment-mediated electron transfer in TiO₂@CdS–Ti₃C₂T_x heterojunctions, the plasmon-induced electric field enhancement of Ti₃C₂T_x is found to cooperate with the electron-reservoir role of Ti₃C₂T_x to extract photoinduced electrons. The synergistic dual functions of Ti₃C₂T_x promote multichannel electron transfer in TiO₂@CdS–Ti₃C₂T_x hybrids to improve the photocatalytic efficiency. These results intuitively show that there is a wide scope to manipulate the spatial separation and transfer of photoinduced electrons by cultivating the fertile ground of Ti₃C₂T_x toward boosting the efficiency of solar-to-chemical conversion.