Construction of atomically dispersed Cu sites and S vacancies on CdS for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Impact Factor:

12.732

DOI number:

10.1039/d1ta03615g

Journal:

J. Mater. Chem. A

Key Words:

Cadmium sulfide, Design for testability, II-VI semiconductors, Photocatalytic activity, Cation exchanges, DFT calculation, Dispersed metals, Dissociative adsorption, Experimental analysis, Photo-catalytic, Photocatalytic performance, Sulfur vacancies, Copper

Abstract:

The controllable introduction of anion vacancies (such as O vacancies and S vacancies) or atomically dispersed metal sites in semiconductors is a promising strategy to improve photocatalytic performance. However, the facile construction of a photocatalyst containing two types of potential active sites simultaneously is still challenging. Herein, we adopt a facile cation exchange strategy to create atomically dispersed Cu sites and accompanying sulfur vacancies on the CdS surface for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. The fabricated CuCdS-5 sample exhibits 3 times improvement in CO yield with a selectivity of 92% in comparison to original CdS. Experimental analysis and DFT calculations reveal that the atomically dispersed Cu sites and S vacancies provide additional CO2 adsorption sites, redistribute the local charges and lower the dissociative adsorption energy of CO2, which enhance the photocatalytic activity. Our work provides a new perspective to design semiconductors with engineered active sites for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Co-author:

Zhiyu Wang, Jingjing Dong, Wenjie Li, Ruyang Wang, Song Sun, Chen Gao, Yisheng Tan

First Author:

Heng Cao, Jiawei Xue

Correspondence Author:

Xiaodi Zhu*,Jun Bao*

Volume:

9

Issue:

30

Page Number:

16339-16344

Translation or Not:

no

Date of Publication:

2021-06-15

Links to published journals:

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/TA/D1TA03615G