Increasing electron density by surface plasmon resonance for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Yujing Su; Yujing Dong; Linping Bao; Chunhui Dai; Xin Liu; Chengyin Liu; Dongwei Ma; Yushuai Jia; Yu Jia; Chao Zeng

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116236

Increasing electron density by surface plasmon resonance for enhanced photocatalytic CO₂ reduction

J Environ Manage. 2022 Dec 1:323:116236. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116236. Epub 2022 Sep 20.

Authors

Yujing Su¹, Yujing Dong², Linping Bao¹, Chunhui Dai³, Xin Liu⁴, Chengyin Liu⁵, Dongwei Ma⁶, Yushuai Jia¹, Yu Jia², Chao Zeng⁷

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Advanced Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Lab of Fluorine and Silicon for Energy Materials and Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, China.
² Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China.
³ Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Mass Spectrometry and Instrumentation, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China.
⁴ Institute of Advanced Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Lab of Fluorine and Silicon for Energy Materials and Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, China. Electronic address: liuxin@jxnu.edu.cn.
⁵ School of Environmental and Material Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai ,264005, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China. Electronic address: madw@henu.edu.cn.
⁷ Institute of Advanced Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Lab of Fluorine and Silicon for Energy Materials and Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, China. Electronic address: czeng@jxnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36150351
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116236

Abstract

The photocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction is a multi-electron process, which is greatly affected by the surface electron density. In this work, we synthesize Ag clusters supported on In₂O₃ plasmonic photocatalysts. The Ag-In₂O₃ compounds show remarkedly enhanced photocatalytic activity for CO₂ conversion to CO compared to pristine In₂O₃. In the absence of any co-catalyst or sacrificial agent, the CO evolution rate of optimal Ag-In₂O₃-10 is 1.56 μmol/g/h, achieving 5.38-folds higher than that of In₂O₃ (0.29 μmol/g/h). Experimental verification and DFT calculation demonstrate that electrons transfer from Ag clusters to In₂O₃ on Ag-In₂O₃ compounds. In Ag-In₂O₃ compounds, Ag clusters serving as electron donators owing to the SPR behaviour are not helpful to decline photo-induced charge recomnation rate, but can provide more electron for photocatalytic reaction. Overall, the Ag clusters promote visible-light absorption and accelerate photocatalytic reaction kinetic for In₂O₃, resulting in the photocatalytic activity enhancement of Ag-In₂O₃ compounds. This work puts insight into the function of plasmonic metal on enhancing photocatalysis performance, and provides a feasible strategy to design and fabricate efficient plasmonic photocatalysts.

Keywords: Ag; CO(2) reduction; In(2)O(3); Plasmonic photocatalyst; SPR.