Crystal phase engineering SiC nanosheets for enhancing photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Abstract

The reduction of CO₂ by photocatalysis has been widely considered, but the rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers on photocatalysts has become a major constraint on efficiency. Herein, we prepare SiC nanosheets with 2H and 3C phase junctions by an in situ high-pressure solvothermal method. The prepared 2H–3C SiC nanosheets promote charge carrier separation and the photocatalytic reduction efficiency of CO₂ to CO is greatly improved without using a sacrificial agent. The CO production rate of this photocatalyst reached 6.29 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, which is about 2.4 times that of pure 3C-SiC. This work deepens the understanding of the influence of the heterophase on photocatalytic activity and provides a novel idea for the application of SiC in catalysis.