Ni(OH)<sub>2</sub>-Decorated Zn<sub>3</sub>In<sub>2</sub>S<sub>6</sub>@ZIF-L Dual-S-Scheme Heterostructure for Cooperative Photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction Coupling with Benzyl Alcohol Oxidation
Jinlong Chen, Manman Mu, Zigeng Wang, Mingxing Ma, Fahim A. Qaraah, Xiaohong Yin, Guoyi Bai
Abstract
Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction coupling with selective oxidation into high-value fuels and chemicals is a promising route but is challenging due to the relatively low reactivity. Herein, the ternary Ni(OH) 2 /Zn 3 In 2 S 6 @ZIF-L heterostructure is prepared by an in situ growth and electrostatic interaction strategy for simultaneous photocatalytic CO 2 reduction and benzyl alcohol oxidation. The incorporation of Ni(OH) 2 in the ternary heterostructure not only significantly accelerates the electron–hole separation and improves charge transfer efficiency but also enhances CO 2 adsorption ability, thus boosting the activity for photoredox coupling reaction. The optimized Ni(OH) 2 /Zn 3 In 2 S 6 @ZIF-L-3 reaches excellent CO and benzaldehyde production rates up to 344.66 and 11,560 μmol·g –1, respectively, outperforming other previously comparable photocatalysts. The remarkably enhanced performance is attributed to excellent photogenerated charge transfer ability, two interfacial electric fields built at the interface, and a dual-S-scheme charge transfer pathway from ZIF-L and Ni(OH) 2 to Zn 3 In 2 S 6 . The photocatalytic mechanism reveals that the photogenerated electrons that accumulated on the conduction band of Zn 3 In 2 S 6 participate in the CO 2 reduction, and simultaneously, the reserved holes on the valence band of Ni(OH) 2 achieve the benzyl alcohol oxidation. This work would offer a guideline for creating dual-S-scheme heterostructures for photocatalytic CO 2 reduction coupling with selective oxidation into high-value chemicals.