Photocatalytic Reduction of CO₂ on a Bi₂MoW_1-O₆ Solid Solution with Enhanced Activity

This paper reports on a Bi₂MoW_1-O₆ solid solution with excellent photocatalytic activity in CO₂ reduction. Under simulated sunlight, the Bi₂Mo_0.25W_0.75O₆ solid solution achieved a CO generation yield of ≤298.2 μmol g^-1 over 3 h, which was 2.1 and 1.5 times larger than those of pristine Bi₂WO₆ and Bi₂MoO₆, respectively. Via an in-depth study of the mechanism, this excellent photocatalytic activity was determinied to be probably due to two major contributions: (1) the formation of oxygen vacancies on the Bi₂Mo_0.25W_0.75O₆ solid solution, which provided more reactive sites for adsorption and activation of CO₂, and (2) modulation of the electronic band structure, which facilitated charge separation. Mechanistic and reaction pathways have been deeply explored and proposed.