Z-scheme polyimide/tungsten trioxide aerogel photocatalyst for enhanced photocatalytic CO₂reduction under visible...

Developing highly efficient and stable photocatalysts is an effective method to achieve CO₂photocatalytic reduction. Herein, PI/WO₃aerogel photocatalyst was prepared by chemical amide reaction coupled with an ethanol supercritical drying technique. The novel aerogel photocatalysts exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance for reducing CO₂into CO. In particular, PI/WO₃-10 aerogel photocatalyst shows the highest yield of CO (5.72μmol g^-1h^-1), which is ca 11-fold higher than that of the pristine PI aerogel. The high CO₂reduction activity can be attributed to the Z-scheme structure, which enhances the separation of photo-generated electron-holes, and induces H₂O oxidation on WO₃nanosheets and CO₂reduction on PI aerogel. The photocatalytic reaction mechanism of CO₂when using PI/WO₃aerogel photocatalyst is proposed.