Design and fabrication of carbon quantum dots/TiO2 photonic crystal complex with enhanced photocatalytic activity

TiO2 photonic crystal photocatalyst with inverse opal structure were first prepared from self-assembled polystyrene spheres template, and then carbon quantum dots (CQDs) was coupled with TiO2 inverse opal through a facile electrodeposition method. The obtained CQDs/TiO2 complex photocatalysts exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to pure TiO2 inverse opal, especially under the irradiation of visible light. Our results provide a promising methodology for designing high performance photocatalysts based on photonic crystal and CQDs, which is benefit for catalytic and new energy applications.