Plasmon Assisted Highly Efficient Visible Light Catalytic CO₂ Reduction Over the Noble Metal Decorated...

The photocatalytic performance of g-C₃N₄ for CO₂ conversion is still inadequate by several shortfalls including the instability, insufficient solar light absorption and rapid charge carrier's recombination rate. To solve these problems, herein, noble metals (Pt and Au) decorated Sr-incorporated g-C₃N₄ photocatalysts are fabricated via the simple calcination and photo-deposition methods. The Sr-incorporation remarkably reduced the g-C₃N₄ band gap from 2.7 to 2.54 eV, as evidenced by the UV-visible absorption spectra and the density functional theory results. The CO₂ conversion performance of the catalysts was evaluated under visible light irradiation. The Pt/0.15Sr-CN sample produced 48.55 and 74.54 µmol h^-1 g^-1 of CH₄ and CO, respectively. These amounts are far greater than that produced by the Au/0.15Sr-CN, 0.15Sr-CN, and CN samples. A high quantum efficiency of 2.92% is predicted for the Pt/0.15Sr-CN sample. Further, the stability of the photocatalyst is confirmed via the photocatalytic recyclable test. The improved CO₂ conversion performance of the catalyst is accredited to the promoted light absorption and remarkably enhanced charge separation via the Sr-incorporated mid gap states and the localized surface plasmon resonance effect induced by noble metal nanoparticles. This work will provide a new approach for promoting the catalytic efficiency of g-C₃N₄ for efficient solar fuel production.