Ag–O–Ce 3+ atomic interface and surface oxygen vacancies on CeO 2 synergistically promoted the selective visible photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2023-06, Vol.11 (22), p.7320-7330
• Main Authors: Zheng, Jie, Li, Shuaitao, Zhang, Yuanrong, Zheng, Peng, Hu, Xun, Fang, Yanfen, Duan, Ran, Chen, Qifeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/D3TC00677H

The CO 2 conversion into high-value-added chemicals is highly meaningful. Photocatalysis is a feasible and promising method to realize this transformation, in which photocatalyst plays a key role. Ceria (CeO 2 ) has attracted extensive attention in the photocatalytic conversion of CO 2 . However, the surface oxygen vacancies (V O s) of CeO 2 are unstable and lead to low reactivity. Herein, we found that the highly dispersed Ag species via coordination method stabilized the V O s of CeO 2 , and the synergy of the Ag species and V O s played a crucial role in the selective photocatalytic CO 2 conversion. The formed Ag–O–Ce 3+ atomic interface promoted the electron transfer from Ce 3+ defective sites to Ag atoms, thereby improving the separation efficiency of the charge carriers, leading to enhanced photocatalytic activity. The V O s-sufficient CeO 2 had high selectivity for the photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to methanol, while highly selective acetone was achieved on Ag- V O s/CeO 2 . The synergy of Ag and V O s that form a frustrated Lewis pair promoted not only the adsorption and activation of CO 2 molecules but also the selectivity of products. The key intermediate species, *COOH and *CH 3 , were stably preserved by the synergy of Ag and V O s. This work provides insight into the selective conversion of CO 2 to high-value-added organics via the surface regulation of photocatalysts.