MXene Ti3C2 decorated g-C3N4/ZnO photocatalysts with improved photocatalytic performance for CO2 reduction

Abstract

Photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ is considered as a kind of promising technologies for solving the greenhouse effect. Herein, a novel hybrid structure of g-C₃N₄/ZnO/Ti₃C₂ photocatalysts was designed and fabricated to investigate their abilities for CO₂ reduction. As demonstration, heterojunction of g-C₃N₄/ZnO can improve photogenerated carriers’ separation, the addition of Ti₃C₂ fragments can further facilitate the photocatalytic performance from CO₂ to CO. Hence, g-C₃N₄/ZnO/Ti₃C₂ has efficiently increased CO production by 8 and 12 times than pristine g-C₃N₄ and ZnO, respectively. Which is ascribed to the photogenerated charge migration promoted by metallic Ti₃C₂. This work provides a guideline for designing efficient hybrid catalysts on other applications in the renewable energy fields.