Well-Designed ZnIn₂S₄@CeO₂ Core-Shell Photocatalysts With Photothermal Synergistic Enhancement for CO₂ Reduction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Photocatalytic CO2 conversion is crucial for mitigating climate change.
• Improving the efficiency of surface redox kinetics is key to boosting CO2 reduction.
• Photothermal-electronic coupling offers a novel strategy for enhancing photocatalysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a ZnIn2S4@CeO2 S-scheme heterojunction for efficient photocatalytic CO2 conversion.
• To investigate the synergistic effects of photothermal enhancement and S-scheme band alignment.
• To explore the potential of this material in solar-driven CO2 reduction.

Main Methods:

• Facile hydrothermal synthesis of nanosheet-hollow core-shell ZnIn2S4@CeO2.
• Comprehensive material characterizations (e.g., XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS).
• Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for electronic structure and charge transfer analysis.

Main Results:

• The S-scheme heterojunction exhibited enhanced light absorption and CO2 adsorption.
• ZnIn2S4@CeO2 demonstrated efficient interfacial charge transfer and localized photothermal effects.
• Achieved a CO yield of 96.21 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ with 87% selectivity, significantly outperforming individual components.

Conclusions:

• The designed ZnIn2S4@CeO2 S-scheme heterojunction effectively harnesses photothermal-electronic coupling for CO2 reduction.
• This work presents a new design strategy for advanced photothermal-assisted S-scheme photocatalysts.
• The findings pave the way for efficient solar-driven CO2 utilization technologies.