Surface Engineering of Full-Spectrum Sunlight-Driven Cds/Nayf4: Yb, Er for Boosting Photocatalytic Co2 Reduction Reaction

Abstract

The utilization of the NIR light in solar energy is meaningful and promising to enhance photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). In this study, an efficient UV-Vis-NIR-activated photocatalyst for CO2RR is constructed by an in-situ surface heterojunction engineering, which is composited of nanosized CdS decorating on the up-conversion component of hexagonal NaYF4: Yb, Er (UC). The as-obtained CdS/UC composite photocatalyst not only shows significant CO2 reduction activities under NIR light but also exhibits a greatly boosted CO and CH4 production rate under simulated sunlight. Benefiting from the strong up-converted energy of UC and the efficient energy transfer in the interfacial contact, the photocatalytic CO2RR can be effectively strengthened by the full spectrum of sunlight. Furthermore, the plausible photocatalytic mechanism for CO2RR over CdS/UC is proposed. This work provides a feasible strategy for designing a new photocatalyst with utilization of sunlight and a durable structure to obtain high-efficiency CO2 reduction.

Keywords: up-conversion materials, CdS nanoparticles, in-situ growth, Photocatalysis, CO2 reduction.