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

Harnessing photothermal-electronic coupling to accelerate surface redox kinetics represents a promising strategy for boosting photocatalytic CO₂ conversion efficiency. In this work, we construct a nanosheet-hollow core-shell ZnIn₂S₄@CeO₂ S-scheme heterojunction via a facile hydrothermal approach, achieving the integration of efficient interfacial charge transfer with localized photothermal enhancement. Comprehensive characterizations and density functional theory calculations confirmed that the S-scheme band alignment promotes directional charge migration and maintains strong redox potentials. Meanwhile, the engineered heterointerface and confined hollow cavity synergistically broaden light absorption, enrich CO₂ adsorption sites, and generate localized thermal fields that accelerate interfacial reaction kinetics. As a result, the ZnIn₂S₄@CeO₂ heterojunction exhibits a CO yield of 96.21 µmol g^-1 h^-1 with a selectivity of 87%, which is 2.87 and 7.81 times higher than that of pure ZnIn₂S₄ and CeO₂, respectively. This work offers a new design paradigm for photothermal-assisted S-scheme photocatalysts in solar-driven CO₂ reduction.