Plasmonic Titanium Nitride Facilitates Indium Oxide CO₂ Photocatalysis

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Photocatalysis
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Nanoscale titanium nitride (TiN) exhibits broad solar spectrum harvesting and photothermal properties.
• Indium oxide-hydroxide (In2O3-x(OH)y) is a photocatalyst for CO2 hydrogenation but limited by its wide bandgap.
• Individual nanomaterials have limitations in solar-driven chemical reactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To combine the advantages of TiN and In2O3-x(OH)y in a ternary heterostructure.
• To improve the efficiency of the light-assisted reverse water gas shift reaction.
• To overcome the spectral limitations of In2O3-x(OH)y.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a ternary heterostructure: TiN@TiO2@In2O3-x(OH)y.
• Utilizing an interfacial TiO2 layer to couple TiN and In2O3-x(OH)y.
• Testing the material's performance in the light-assisted reverse water gas shift reaction.

Main Results:

• The TiN@TiO2@In2O3-x(OH)y heterostructure demonstrated synergistic coupling of metallic and semiconducting properties.
• The material achieved significantly higher conversion rates in the reverse water gas shift reaction compared to individual or binary components.
• Enhanced light absorption and charge transfer were observed.

Conclusions:

• The developed ternary heterostructure is highly effective for solar-driven CO2 conversion.
• The synergistic integration of nanomaterials offers a promising strategy for advanced photocatalysis.
• This approach significantly advances the efficiency of the reverse water gas shift reaction.