Research Progress on Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction Based on Perovskite Oxides

Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to valuable fuels is a promising way to alleviate anthropogenic CO₂ emissions and energy crises. Perovskite oxides have attracted widespread attention as photocatalysts for CO₂ reduction by virtue of their high catalytic activity, compositional flexibility, bandgap adjustability, and good stability. In this review, the basic theory of photocatalysis and the mechanism of CO₂ reduction over perovskite oxide are first introduced. Then, perovskite oxides' structures, properties, and preparations are presented. In detail, the research progress on perovskite oxides for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction is discussed from five aspects: as a photocatalyst in its own right, metal cation doping at A and B sites of perovskite oxides, anion doping at O sites of perovskite oxides and oxygen vacancies, loading cocatalyst on perovskite oxides, and constructing heterojunction with other semiconductors. Finally, the development prospects of perovskite oxides for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction are put forward. This article should serve as a useful guide for creating perovskite oxide-based photocatalysts that are more effective and reasonable.     

金属掺杂对TiO2光催化还原CO2制甲酸甲酯活性的影响

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备掺杂金属改性的TiO2光催化剂,并研究其光催化还原CO2制甲酸甲酯的反应效果。以钛酸丁酯为主要原料,制备纳米TiO2。通过改变金属掺杂量、焙烧温度、前躯体pH等,确定出适宜的催化剂制备条件。结合SEM、XRD、UV-vis等对催化剂进行了形貌、结构和吸光行为的表征。进而考察了其光催化还原CO2的活性。结果表明:溶胶-凝胶法制备掺杂金属的TiO2,可使金属均匀地分布于TiO2表面,经催化活性评价,获得适宜的掺杂元素和掺杂量,优选的制备条件为溶胶pH=2.5～3、凝胶焙烧温度500℃,在催化剂用量1mg/mL,光照强度2880μw/cm2的反应条件下,可有效地促进TiO2光催化还原CO2制甲酸甲酯。     

Nanostructured Carbon Nitrides for CO2 Capture and Conversion

Carbon nitride (CN), a 2D material composed of only carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), which are linked by strong covalent bonds, has been used as a metal-devoid and visible-light-active photocatalyst owing to its magnificent optoelectronic and physicochemical properties including suitable bandgap, adjustable energy-band positions, tailor-made surface functionalities, low cost, metal-free nature, and high thermal, chemical, and mechanical stabilities. CN-based materials possess a lot of advantages over conventional metal-based inorganic photocatalysts including ease of synthesis and processing, versatile functionalization or doping, flexibility for surface engineering, low cost, sustainability, and recyclability without any leaching of toxic metals from photocorrosion. Carbon nitrides and their hybrid materials have emerged as attractive candidates for CO₂ capture and its reduction into clean and green low-carbon fuels and valuable chemical feedstock by using sustainable and intermittent renewable energy sources of sunlight and electricity through the heterogeneous photo(electro)catalysis. Here, the latest research results in this field are summarized, including implementation of novel functionalized nanostructured CNs and their hybrid heterostructures in meeting the stringent requirements to raise the efficiency of the CO₂ reduction process by using state-of-the-art photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, and feedstock reactions. The research in this field is primarily focused on advancement in the synthesis of nanostructured and functionalized CN-based hybrid heterostructured materials. More importantly, the recent past has seen a surge in studies focusing significantly on exploring the mechanism of their application perspectives, which include the behavior of the materials for the absorption of light, charge separation, and pathways for the transport of CO₂ during the reduction process.     

Synthesis and Photocatalytic Application of Stable Lead‐Free Cs2AgBiBr6 Perovskite Nanocrystals

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have demonstrated great potential as appealing candidates for advanced optoelectronic applications. However, the toxicity of lead and the intrinsic instability toward moisture hinder their mass production and commercialization. Herein, to solve such thorny problems, novel lead‐free Cs₂AgBiBr₆ double perovskite NCs fabricated via a simple hot‐injection method are reported, which exhibit impressive stability in moisture, light, and temperature. Such materials are then applied into photocatalytic CO₂ reduction, achieving a total electron consumption of 105 µmol g^?1 under AM 1.5G illumination for 6 h. This study offers a reliable avenue for Cs₂AgBiBr₆ perovskite nanocrystals preparation, which holds a great potential in the further photochemical applications.     

Ligand-Modulated Excess PbI2 Nanosheets for Highly Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Excess lead iodide (PbI₂), as a defect passivation material in perovskite films, contributes to the longer carrier lifetime and reduced halide vacancies for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. However, the random distribution of excess PbI₂ also leads to accelerated degradation of the perovskite layer. Inspired by nanocrystal synthesis, here, a universal ligand-modulation technology is developed to modulate the shape and distribution of excess PbI₂ in perovskite films. By adding certain ligands, perovskite films with vertically distributed PbI₂ nanosheets between the grain boundaries are successfully achieved, which reduces the nonradiative recombination and trap density of the perovskite layer. Thus, the power conversion efficiency of the modulated device increases from 20% to 22% compared to the control device. In addition, benefiting from the vertical distribution of excess PbI₂ and the hydrophobic nature of the surface ligands, the modulated devices exhibit much longer stability, retaining 72% of their initial efficiency after 360 h constant illumination under maximum power point tracking measurement.     

Engineering Single Cu Sites into Covalent Organic Framework for Selective Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Photocatalytic CO₂ conversion into value-added chemicals is a promising route but remains challenging due to poor product selectivity. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as an emerging class of porous materials are considered as promising candidates for photocatalysis. Incorporating metallic sites into COF is a successful strategy to realize high photocatalytic activities. Herein, 2,2′-bipyridine-based COF bearing non-noble single Cu sites is fabricated by chelating coordination of dipyridyl units for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. The coordinated single Cu sites not only significantly enhance light harvesting and accelerate electron–hole separation but also provide adsorption and activation sites for CO₂ molecules. As a proof of concept, the Cu-Bpy-COF as a representative catalyst exhibits superior photocatalytic activity for reducing CO₂ to CO and CH₄ without photosensitizer, and impressively, the product selectivity of CO and CH₄ can be readily modulated only by changing reaction media. Experimental and theoretical results reveal the crucial role of single Cu sites in promoting photoinduced charge separation and solvent effect in regulating product selectivity, which provides an important sight onto the design of COF photocatalysts for selective CO₂ photoreduction.     

Guest-Induced Multilevel Charge Transport Strategy for Developing Metal-Organic Frameworks to Boost Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Encapsulating photogenerated charge-hopping nodes and space transport bridges within metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is a promising method of boosting the photocatalytic performance. Herein, this work embeds electron transfer media (9,10-bis(4-pyridyl)anthracene (BPAN)) in MOF cavities to build multi-level electron transfer paths. The MOF cavities are accurately regulated to investigate the significance of the multi-level electron transfer paths in the process of CO₂ photoreduction by evaluating the difference in the number of guest media. The prepared MOFs, {[Co(BPAN)(1,4-dicarboxybenzene)(H₂O)₂]·BPAN·2H₂O} and {[Co(BPAN)₂(4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic acid)₂(H₂O)₂]·2BPAN·2H₂O} (denoted as BPAN-Co-1 and BPAN-Co-2), exhibit efficient visible-light-driven CO₂ conversion properties. The CO photoreduction efficacy of BPAN-Co-2 (5598 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) is superior to that of most reported MOF-based catalysts. In addition, the enhanced CO₂ photoreduction ability is supported by density functional theory (DFT). This work illustrates the feasibility of realizing charge separation characteristics in MOF catalysts at the molecular level, and provides new insight for designing high-performance MOFs for artificial photosynthesis.     

Cocatalysts in Semiconductor‐based Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction: Achievements,Challenges, and Opportunities

Ever‐increasing fossil‐fuel combustion along with massive CO₂ emissions has aroused a global energy crisis and climate change. Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction represents a promising strategy for clean, cost‐effective, and environmentally friendly conversion of CO₂ into hydrocarbon fuels by utilizing solar energy. This strategy combines the reductive half‐reaction of CO₂ conversion with an oxidative half reaction, e.g., H₂O oxidation, to create a carbon‐neutral cycle, presenting a viable solution to global energy and environmental problems. There are three pivotal processes in photocatalytic CO₂ conversion: (i) solar‐light absorption, (ii) charge separation/migration, and (iii) catalytic CO₂ reduction and H₂O oxidation. While significant progress is made in optimizing the first two processes, much less research is conducted toward enhancing the efficiency of the third step, which requires the presence of cocatalysts. In general, cocatalysts play four important roles: (i) boosting charge separation/transfer, (ii) improving the activity and selectivity of CO₂ reduction, (iii) enhancing the stability of photocatalysts, and (iv) suppressing side or back reactions. Herein, for the first time, all the developed CO₂‐reduction cocatalysts for semiconductor‐based photocatalytic CO₂ conversion are summarized, and their functions and mechanisms are discussed. Finally, perspectives in this emerging area are provided.     

Highly Enhancing CO2 Photoreduction by Metallization of an Imidazole-linked Robust Covalent Organic Framework

Converting CO₂ into value-added chemicals to solve the issues caused by carbon emission is promising but challenging. Herein, by embedding metal ions (Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺) into an imidazole-linked robust photosensitive covalent organic framework (PyPor-COF), effective photocatalysts for CO₂ conversion are rationally designed and constructed. Characterizations display that all of the metallized PyPor-COFs (M-PyPor-COFs) display remarkably high enhancement in their photochemical properties. Photocatalysis reactions reveal that the Co-metallized PyPor-COF (Co-PyPor-COF) achieves a CO production rate as high as up to 9645 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ with a selectivity of 96.7% under light irradiation, which is more than 45 times higher than that of the metal-free PyPor-COF, while Ni-metallized PyPor-COF (Ni-PyPor-COF) can further tandem catalyze the generated CO to CH₄ with a production rate of 463.2 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹. Experimental analyses and theory calculations reveal that their remarkable performance enhancement on CO₂ photoreduction should be attributed to the incorporated metal sites in the COF skeleton, which promotes the adsorption and activation of CO₂ and the desorption of generated CO and even reduces the reaction energy barrier for the formation of different intermediates. This work demonstrates that by metallizing photoactive COFs, effective photocatalysts for CO₂ conversion can be achieved.     

Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 into Renewable Hydrocarbon Fuels: State‐of‐the‐Art Accomplishment,Challenges, and Prospects

Photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ into hydrocarbon fuels, an artificial photosynthesis, is based on the simulation of natural photosynthesis in green plants, whereby O₂ and carbohydrates are produced from H₂O and CO₂ using sunlight as an energy source. It couples the reductive half‐reaction of CO₂ fixation with a matched oxidative half‐reaction such as water oxidation, to achieve a carbon neutral cycle, which is like killing two birds with one stone in terms of saving the environment and supplying future energy. The present review provides an overview and highlights recent state‐of‐the‐art accomplishments of overcoming the drawback of low photoconversion efficiency and selectivity through the design of highly active photocatalysts from the point of adsorption of reactants, charge separation and transport, light harvesting, and CO₂ activation. It specifically includes: i) band‐structure engineering, ii) nanostructuralization, iii) surface oxygen vacancy engineering, iv) macro‐/meso‐/microporous structuralization, v) exposed facet engineering, vi) co‐catalysts, vii) the development of a Z‐scheme system. The challenges and prospects for future development of this field are also present.     

Ultrathin Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Encapsulated Ni Nanoparticles for Highly Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Reduction and Aqueous Zn-CO2 Batteries

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR), powered by renewable electricity, has attracted great attention for producing high value-added fuels and chemicals, as well as feasibly mitigating CO₂ emission problem. Here, this work reports a facile hard template strategy to prepare the Ni@N-C catalyst with core–shell structure, where nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs) are encapsulated by thin nitrogen-doped carbon shells (N-C shells). The Ni@N-C catalyst has demonstrated a promising industrial current density of 236.7 mA cm⁻² with the superb FE_CO of 97% at −1.1 V versus RHE. Moreover, Ni@N-C can drive the reversible Zn-CO₂ battery with the largest power density of 1.64 mW cm⁻², and endure a tough cycling durability. These excellent performances are ascribed to the synergistic effect of Ni@N-C that Ni NPs can regulate the electronic microenvironment of N-doped carbon shells, which favor to enhance the CO₂ adsorption capacity and the electron transfer capacity. Density functional theory calculations prove that the binding configuration of N-C located on the top of Ni slabs (Top-Ni@N-C) is the most thermodynamically stable and possess a lowest thermodynamic barrier for the formation of COOH^* and the desorption of CO. This work may pioneer a new method on seeking high-efficiency and worthwhile electrocatalysts for CO₂RR and Zn-CO₂ battery.     

Geometric and Electronic Structural Engineering of Isolated Ni Single Atoms for a Highly Efficient CO2 Electroreduction

Tuning the coordination environment and geometric structures of single atom catalysts is an effective approach for regulating the reaction mechanism and maximize the catalytic efficiency of single-atom centers. Here, a template-based synthesis strategy is proposed for the synthesis of high-density NiN_x sites anchored on the surface of hierarchically porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (Ni-HPNCFs) with different coordination environments. First-principles calculations and advanced characterization techniques demonstrate that the single Ni atom is strongly coordinated with both pyrrolic and pyridinic N dopants, and that the predominant sites are stabilized by NiN₃ sites. This dual engineering strategy increases the number of active sites and utilization efficiency of each single atom as well as boosts the intrinsic activity of each active site on a single-atom scale. Notably, the Ni-HPNCF catalyst achieves a high CO Faradaic efficiency (FE_CO) of 97% at a potential of −0.7 V, a high CO partial current density (j_CO) of 49.6 mA cm⁻² (−1.0 V), and a remarkable turnover frequency of 24 900 h⁻¹ (−1.0 V) for CO₂ reduction reactions (CO₂RR). Density functional theory calculations show that compared to pyridinic-type NiN_x, the pyrrolic-type NiN₃ moieties display a superior CO₂RR activity over hydrogen evolution reactions, resulting in their superior catalytic activity and selectivity.     

铋掺杂提高氧化铈中氧空位浓度增强CO2光催化还原性能

氧空位在CO₂光催化还原过程中往往发挥重要作用。本工作中, 用水热法合成了不同Bi掺杂量的二氧化铈光催化剂Ce_1-xBi_xO_2-δ, 其中Ce_0.6Bi_0.4O_2-δ在Xe灯照射下表现出最高的光催化活性, 其CO产率为纯二氧化铈纳米棒的4.6倍。X射线衍射(XRD)分析表明固溶体保留了二氧化铈的萤石结构;紫外-可见漫反射(UV-Vis)光谱表明固溶体可见光吸收增强;X射线光电子能谱 (XPS)和拉曼光谱(Raman)分析表明, 掺杂后氧空位浓度明显提高。结合原位傅里叶变换红外光谱(in-situ FT-IR), 发现引入Bi提高了固溶体中氧空位的浓度, 并改变了CO₂在催化剂表面上的吸附/活化行为, 光照下碳酸氢根、碳酸根、甲酸等中间产物明显增多, 从而增强了CO₂光催化还原性能。     

一步法直接合成rGO/Bi2O2CO3及其光催化性能研究

采用简单易行的一锅水热法, 制备了还原氧化石墨烯(RGO)复合的Bi₂O₂CO₃光催化剂。通过XRD、N₂吸附、XPS、SEM和TEM等测试手段对光催化剂进行表征。结果表明: 石墨烯与Bi₂O₂CO₃纳米片形成了有效复合。在设计吸附饱和排除RGO物理吸附的影响下, 发现复合光催化剂的性能明显提高, 其中RGO复合量为6.0wt%时活性最佳, 其光催化降解RhB的速率是Bi₂O₂CO₃的3.02倍, 并具有良好的循环稳定性。光电谱学分析表明复合RGO有效抑制了光生电子-空穴对的复合, 且拓宽和增强了催化剂的可见光吸收。机理分析表明: RGO/Bi₂O₂CO₃中O₂可多位点捕获光生电子, 从而产生更多活性物种O₂^-·, 实现对污染物的快速有效降解。     

Recent Advances and Perspectives of Core-Shell Nanostructured Materials for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Photocatalytic CO₂ conversion into solar fuels is a promising technology to alleviate CO₂ emissions and energy crises. The development of core-shell structured photocatalysts brings many benefits to the photocatalytic CO₂ reduction process, such as high conversion efficiency, sufficient product selectivity, and endurable catalyst stability. Core-shell nanostructured materials with excellent physicochemical features take an irreplaceable position in the field of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. In this review, the recent development of core-shell materials applied for photocatalytic reduction of CO_{2 is introduced}. First, the basic principle of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction is introduced. In detail, the classification and synthesis techniques of core-shell catalysts are discussed. Furthermore, it is also emphasized that the excellent properties of the core-shell structure can greatly improve the activity, selectivity, and stability in the process of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. Hopefully, this paper can provide a favorable reference for the preparation of efficient photocatalysts for CO₂ reduction.     

Interfacial Molecular Doping of Metal Halide Perovskites for Highly Efficient Solar Cells

Tailoring the doping of semiconductors in heterojunction solar cells shows tremendous success in enhancing the performance of many types of inorganic solar cells, while it is found challenging in perovskite solar cells because of the difficulty in doping perovskites in a controllable way. Here, a small molecule of 4,4′,4″,4″′-(pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetrayl) tetrakis (N,N-bis(4-methoxyphenyl) aniline) (PT-TPA) which can effectively p-dope the surface of FA_xMA_1−xPbI₃ (FA: HC(NH₂)₂; MA: CH₃NH₃) perovskite films is reported. The intermolecular charge transfer property of PT-TPA forms a stabilized resonance structure to accept electrons from perovskites. The doping effect increases perovskite dark conductivity and carrier concentration by up to 4737 times. Computation shows that electrons in the first two layers of octahedral cages in perovskites are transferred to PT-TPA. After applying PT-TPA into perovskite solar cells, the doping-induced band bending in perovskite effectively facilitates hole extraction to hole transport layer and expels electrons toward cathode side, which reduces the charge recombination there. The optimized devices demonstrate an increased photovoltage from 1.12 to 1.17 V and an efficiency of 23.4% from photocurrent scanning with a stabilized efficiency of 22.9%. The findings demonstrate that molecular doping is an effective route to control the interfacial charge recombination in perovskite solar cells which is in complimentary to broadly applied defect passivation techniques.     

Dopant-Free Organic Hole-Transporting Material for Efficient and Stable Inverted All-Inorganic and Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells

Designing new hole-transporting materials (HTMs) with desired chemical, electrical, and electronic properties is critical to realize efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) with a p–i–n structure. Herein, the synthesis of a novel 3D small molecule named TPE-S and its application as an HTM in PVSCs are shown. The all-inorganic inverted PVSCs made using TPE-S, processed without any dopant or post-treatment, are highly efficient and stable. Compared to control devices based on the commonly used HTM, PEDOT:PSS, devices based on TPE-S exhibit improved optoelectronic properties, more favorable interfacial energetics, and reduced recombination due to an improved trap passivation effect. As a result, the all-inorganic CsPbI₂Br PVSCs based on TPE-S demonstrate a remarkable efficiency of 15.4% along with excellent stability, which is the one of the highest reported values for inverted all-inorganic PVSCs. Meanwhile, the TPE-S layer can also be generally used to improve the performance of organic/inorganic hybrid inverted PVSCs, which show an outstanding power conversation efficiency of 21.0%, approaching the highest reported efficiency for inverted PVSCs. This work highlights the great potential of TPE-S as a simple and general dopant-free HTM for different types of high-performance PVSCs.     

TiO2 Electron Transport Bilayer for Highly Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cell

In planar perovskite solar cells, it is vital to engineer the extraction and recombination of electron–hole pairs at the electron transport layer/perovskite interface for obtaining high performance. This study reports a novel titanium oxide (TiO₂) bilayer with different Fermi energy levels by combing atomic layer deposition and spin‐coating technique. Energy band alignments of TiO₂ bilayer can be modulated by controlling the deposition order of layers. The TiO₂ bilayer based perovskite solar cells are highly efficient in carrier extraction, recombination suppression, and defect passivation, and thus demonstrate champion efficiencies up to 16.5%, presenting almost 50% enhancement compared to the TiO₂ single layer based counterparts. The results suggest that the bilayer with type II band alignment as electron transport layers provides an efficient approach for constructing high‐performance planar perovskite solar cells.     

Recent Progress and Development in Inorganic Halide Perovskite Quantum Dots for Photoelectrochemical Applications

Inorganic halide perovskite quantum dots (IHPQDs) have recently emerged as a new class of optoelectronic nanomaterials that can outperform the existing hybrid organometallic halide perovskite (OHP), II–VI and III–V groups semiconductor nanocrystals, mainly due to their relatively high stability, excellent photophysical properties, and promising applications in wide‐ranging and diverse fields. In particular, IHPQDs have attracted much recent attention in the field of photoelectrochemistry, with the potential to harness their superb optical and charge transport properties as well as spectacular characteristics of quantum confinement effect for opening up new opportunities in next‐generation photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems. Over the past few years, numerous efforts have been made to design and prepare IHPQD‐based materials for a wide range of applications in photoelectrochemistry, ranging from photocatalytic degradation, photocatalytic CO₂ reduction and PEC sensing, to photovoltaic devices. In this review, the recent advances in the development of IHPQD‐based materials are summarized from the standpoint of photoelectrochemistry. The prospects and further developments of IHPQDs in this exciting field are also discussed.