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

[Display omitted] •The 3D ZnIn2S4/TiO2 composite photocatalyst is prepared by two steps for CO2 reduction.•The CH4 production rate of ZnIn2S4/TiO2 is about 38-times higher than pure ZnIn2S4.•The supposed mechanism of the excellent performance is due to a Z-Scheme system. A 3-dimensional (3D) ZnIn2S4...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied catalysis. B, Environmental Environmental, 2017-12, Vol.219, p.611-618
Main Authors: Yang, Guang, Chen, Daimei, Ding, Hao, Feng, Jiejie, Zhang, Jin Z., Zhu, Yongfa, Hamid, Saher, Bahnemann, Detlef W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Three-dimensional structure
TiO2
Z-Scheme system
ZnIn2S4
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Summary:[Display omitted] •The 3D ZnIn2S4/TiO2 composite photocatalyst is prepared by two steps for CO2 reduction.•The CH4 production rate of ZnIn2S4/TiO2 is about 38-times higher than pure ZnIn2S4.•The supposed mechanism of the excellent performance is due to a Z-Scheme system. A 3-dimensional (3D) ZnIn2S4/TiO2 Z-scheme system has been designed and constructed for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into renewable hydrocarbon fuels without the use of a solid-state electron mediator. The unique 3D morphology, achieved by assembling 2D ZnIn2S4 nanosheets onto 1D TiO2 nanobelts, not only provides large surface area but also improves the separation and transfer efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. The 3D ZnIn2S4/TiO2 Z-scheme photocatalysts show excellent light-harvesting properties demonstrated in photocatalytic reduction of CO2, resulting in generation of desired hydrocarbons. The CH4 production rate of the 3D ZnIn2S4/TiO2 can reach up to 1.135μmolg−1h−1, which is about 39-times higher than that of bare ZnIn2S4 (0.029μmolg−1h−1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to effective separation of the charge carriers between ZnIn2S4 and TiO2 through the direct Z-scheme instead of a type-II heterojunction. The photogenerated electrons in TiO2 nanobelts recombine with the holes in ZnIn2S4 nanosheets, and the unrecombined electrons/holes on different active sites have stronger reduction/oxidation abilities, leading to higher photocatalytic activity for CO2 reduction.
ISSN:0926-3373
1873-3883
DOI:10.1016/j.apcatb.2017.08.016