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Vol. 13 (2021)

Plasmon Assisted Highly Efficient Visible Light Catalytic CO2 Reduction Over the Noble Metal Decorated Sr-Incorporated g-C3N4

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00736-x
Muhammad Humayun
School of Optical and Electronic Information, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Engineering Research Center for Functional Ceramics of the Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China
Habib Ullah
Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Cornwall, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
Lang Shu
School of Optical and Electronic Information, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Engineering Research Center for Functional Ceramics of the Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China
Xiang Ao
School of Optical and Electronic Information, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Engineering Research Center for Functional Ceramics of the Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China
Asif Ali Tahir
Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Cornwall, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
Chungdong Wang
School of Optical and Electronic Information, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Engineering Research Center for Functional Ceramics of the Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China
Wei Luo
School of Optical and Electronic Information, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Engineering Research Center for Functional Ceramics of the Ministry of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Chungdong Wang

apcdwang@hust.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 13 (2021), Article Number: 209

Abstract

The photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 for CO2 conversion is still inadequate by several shortfalls including the instability, insufficient solar light absorption and rapid charge carrier’s recombination rate. To solve these problems, herein, noble metals (Pt and Au) decorated Sr-incorporated g-C3N4 photocatalysts are fabricated via the simple calcination and photo-deposition methods. The Sr-incorporation remarkably reduced the g-C3N4 band gap from 2.7 to 2.54 eV, as evidenced by the UV–visible absorption spectra and the density functional theory results. The CO2 conversion performance of the catalysts was evaluated under visible light irradiation. The Pt/0.15Sr-CN sample produced 48.55 and 74.54 µmol h−1 g−1 of CH4 and CO, respectively. These amounts are far greater than that produced by the Au/0.15Sr-CN, 0.15Sr-CN, and CN samples. A high quantum efficiency of 2.92% is predicted for the Pt/0.15Sr-CN sample. Further, the stability of the photocatalyst is confirmed via the photocatalytic recyclable test. The improved CO2 conversion performance of the catalyst is accredited to the promoted light absorption and remarkably enhanced charge separation via the Sr-incorporated mid gap states and the localized surface plasmon resonance effect induced by noble metal nanoparticles. This work will provide a new approach for promoting the catalytic efficiency of g-C3N4 for efficient solar fuel production.


Highlights:


1 Noble metals (Pt, Au) decorated Sr-incorporated g-C3N4 photocatalysts are fabricated via facile calcination and photo-deposition methods.
2 The optical absorption and charge separation properties of the photocatalysts are remarkably improved and the Pt/0.15Sr-CN photocatalyst exhibited excellent activity for CO2 conversion.
3 A quantum efficiency of 2.92% is predicted for CO2 reduction over the Pt/0.15Sr-CN photocatalyst at 420 nm wavelength, which is accredited to the improved optical absorption and enhanced charge separation via Sr-incorporation and the surface plasmon resonance effect of noble metal nanoparticles.

Keywords

g-C3N4 Sr-incorporation Noble metal deposition Density functional theory Energy applications
Humayun, Muhammad, Habib Ullah, Lang Shu, Xiang Ao, Asif Ali Tahir, Chungdong Wang, and Wei Luo. 2021. “Plasmon Assisted Highly Efficient Visible Light Catalytic CO2 Reduction Over the Noble Metal Decorated Sr-Incorporated G-C3N4”. Nano-Micro Letters 13 (October):209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00736-x.
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