Chemosphere-Inspired Irradiation Reallocation Strategy Based on Mie Theory for Stable CO<sub>2</sub> Photoreduction over Cu<sub>2</sub>O
Tongyu Wang, Kaiming Deng, Hailing Huo, Chengxi Huang, Yongping Du, Ming-Yuan Yu, Jingjing Ma, Erjun Kan, Ang Li
Abstract
Photocatalytic conversion of CO 2 to fuels presents a promising approach to reduce CO 2 emissions and address the energy crisis. Cu 2 O has already emerged as a promising material for carbonaceous generation. However, it suffers from poor photostability caused by the accumulation of photogenerated holes. Here, drawing inspiration from the Earth’s chemosphere, we introduce a nanoscale irradiation reallocation strategy employing a TiO 2 hollow sphere to shade Cu 2 O from excess irradiation. Based on Mie theory and near-field electric field distribution, the designed structure can provide a mild illumination environment for Cu 2 O, thereby mitigating the rapid accumulation of photogenerated holes, thus improving the stability. Additionally, photogenerated electrons from TiO 2 can transfer following an all-solid-state Z-scheme mechanism to further neutralize the accumulation holes of Cu 2 O. Compared to the conventional coverage protection approaches, our strategy not only confirms the shading effect but also ensures the exposure of the Cu 2 O active sites. Consequently, the catalyst with Cu 2 O shading by TiO 2 hollow sphere exhibits impressive photocatalytic stability and methanol productivity, retaining 76.4% (2593.6 μmol g –1 h –1 ) after the fourth cycle.