Highly Selective Photocatalytic Reduction of CO<sub>2</sub> to CO Over Ru‐Modified Bi<sub>2</sub>MoO<sub>6</sub>
Guangmin Ren, Sitong Liu, Zizhen Li, Hongcun Bai, Xiude Hu, Xiangchao Meng
Abstract
Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction is a promising strategy for sustainable development. Optimizing the structure of photocatalysts to facilitate the separation of electron–hole pairs for improved performance is not only highly desirable but also challenging. Aiming to improve the photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 , Ru is selected and applied to modify Bi 2 MoO 6 . Compared to pure Bi 2 MoO 6 , Ru‐Bi 2 MoO 6 exhibits substantially excellent photocatalytic activity in CO 2 reduction with CO generation of 142.77 μmol −1 g −1 and selectivity of 100% under simulated sunlight. The enhancement might be attributed to the following: 1) Ru 0 acting as an electron acceptor facilitates unique interaction and activation with CO, 2) Ru 4+ doping enhances light absorption with addition impure energy levels within the bandgap, 3) ultrathin layers is in favor of improving the specific surface area and providing more exposed sites for CO 2 adsorption and activation, and 4) interfaces between Ru and Bi 2 MoO 6 accelerate charge transfer and separation, and electrons and holes are efficiently transferred to Ru and Ru 4+ , respectively, facilitating the reduction and oxidation reactions. This work provides a new approach to improve photocatalytic CO 2 abatement and further presents valuable new insights into the design modification of photocatalytic systems.