Stabilizing electron-rich Ni single-atoms on black phosphorus nanosheets boosts photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction

Ye Wang; Yingkui Yan; Huabin Zhang; Xinsheng Peng; Hubiao Huang; Songtao Zhang; Li Shi

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.12.075

Stabilizing electron-rich Ni single-atoms on black phosphorus nanosheets boosts photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Mar 15:658:324-333. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.12.075. Epub 2023 Dec 13.

Authors

Ye Wang¹, Yingkui Yan¹, Huabin Zhang², Xinsheng Peng³, Hubiao Huang⁴, Songtao Zhang⁵, Li Shi⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, PR China.
² KAUST Catalysis Center (KCC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
³ State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
⁴ Emergent Soft Matter Function Research Group, RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
⁵ Testing Center, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, PR China.
⁶ School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, PR China. Electronic address: shili1@nbu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38113541
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.12.075

Abstract

The development of unique single-atom catalysts with electron-rich feature is essential to promoting the photocatalytic CO₂ reduction, yet remains a big challenge. Here, a conceptionally new single-atom catalyst constructed from atomically dispersed Ni-P₃ species on black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets (BP-Ni) is synthesized for realizing highly efficient visible-light-driven CO₂ reduction when trapping photogenerated electrons from homogeneous light absorbers in the presence of triethanolamine as the sacrificial agent. Both the experimental and theoretical calculation data reveal that the Ni-P₃ species on BP nanosheets own the electron-rich feature that can improve the photogenerated charge separation efficiency and lower the activation barrier of CO₂ conversion. This unique feature makes BP-Ni exhibit the much higher activity as cocatalyst in the photocatalytic CO₂ reduction than BP nanosheets. The BP-Ni can also be applied as a cocatalyst for enhanced photocatalytic CO₂ reduction after combining with CdSe/S colloidal crystal photocatalyst. The present study offers valuable inspirations for the design and construction of effective catalytic sites toward photocatalytic CO₂ reduction reactions.

Keywords: Black phosphorus; Cocatalyst; Photocatalytic CO(2) reduction; Single-atom catalyst.