A Three-in-One Integrated Cs₃Bi₂Br₉@Co₃O₄ Heterostructure with Photoinduced Self-Heating Effect for Synergistically...

Photothermal catalysis, which applies solar energy to produce photogenerated e^-/h⁺ pairs as well as provide heat input, is recognized as a promising technology for high conversion efficiency of CO₂ to value-added solar fuels. In this work, a "shooting three birds with one stone" approach is demonstrated to significantly enhance the photothermal CO₂ reduction over the Cs₃Bi₂Br₉@Co₃O₄ (CBB@Co₃O₄) heterostructure. Initially, Co₃O₄ with photoinduced self-heating effect serves as a photothermal material to elevate the temperature of the photocatalyst, which kinetically accelerates the catalytic reaction. Meanwhile, a p-n heterojunction is constructed between the p-type Co₃O₄ and n-type Cs₃Bi₂Br₉ semiconductors, which has an intrinsic built-in electric field (BEF) to facilitate the separation of photogenerated e^-/h⁺ pairs. Furthermore, the mesoporous Co₃O₄ matrix can afford abundant active sites for promoting adsorption/activation of CO₂ molecules. Benefiting from these synergistic effects, the as-developed CBB@Co₃O₄ heterostructure achieves an impressive CO₂-to-CO conversion rate of 168.56 µmol g^-1 h^-1 with no extra heat input. This work provides an insightful guidance for the construction of effective photothermal catalysts for CO₂ reduction with high solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency.