Interfacial engineering on hierarchical ZrO₂ nanozyme realizes efficient CO₂ photoreduction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Designing photoactive nanozymes for CO2 reduction is challenging.
• Existing methods often lack efficiency and stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a hierarchically structured ZFs-tpyNi heterojunction nanozyme for efficient CO2 reduction under visible light.
• To investigate the structure-activity relationship and catalytic performance.

Main Methods:

• Interfacial engineering strategy to synthesize ZFs-tpyNi heterojunction nanozyme.
• Photocatalytic CO2-to-CO conversion experiments.
• Durability and stability testing.
• Characterization of surface area, porosity, and band structure.

Main Results:

• ZFs-tpyNi achieved a CO yield of 18.2 µmol and 92.4% selectivity for CO2-to-CO conversion.
• High apparent quantum efficiency of 0.96% and excellent durability over eight cycles.
• Enhanced CO2 adsorption and activation due to high surface area and optimized band alignment.

Conclusions:

• The ZFs-tpyNi nanozyme demonstrates superior performance in photocatalytic CO2 reduction.
• Hierarchical structure and interfacial engineering are key to enhanced catalytic activity and stability.
• This work highlights the potential of nanozyme catalysts in sustainable energy applications.