Synergistic effect of cocatalyst and S-scheme heterojunction over 2D/2D g-C3N4/MoS2 heterostructure coupled Cu nanoparticles for selective photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CO under visible light irradiation
Ali H. Bashal, Khaled Alkanad, Mohammed Al‐Ghorbani, Sami Ben Aoun, Mohammed Abdullah Bajiri
Abstract
Step-scheme (S-scheme) configuration and cocatalyst are potential strategies for improving the photocatalytic activity of a nanoheterostructure. Herein, Cu nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) coupled 2D/2D van der Waals heterojunction (g-C 3 N 4 /MoS 2 ) has been developed for CO 2 reduction under visible light irradiation. Several analytical techniques were conducted to confirm the composition , morphology, and band configuration of the g-C 3 N 4 /MoS 2 /Cu heterostructure. XPS and EPR analyses confirm that the charge transfer during photocatalysis follows the S-scheme mechanism. 2D/2D morphology enables a large interfacial intimate contract, and Cu-NPs act as a cocatalyst, boosting catalytic activity, facilitating electron extraction, and tuning the product selectivity . As a result, the g-C 3 N 4 /MoS 2 /Cu heterostructure achieved efficient photocatalytic CO 2 to CO reduction with a yield of 146.7 μmol g −1 h −1 and nearly 100 % selectivity. This paper presents a systematic structural development strategy for controlling the different types of heterointerfaces, as well as facilitating a deep understanding of the mechanism of multi-junction photocatalysts .