Cobalt Oxide on Boron-Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride as Bifunctional Photocatalysts for CO2 Reduction and Hydrogen Evolution

Jean C da Cruz; Gelson T S T da Silva; Eduardo H Dias; Diego S D Lima; Juliana A Torres; Pollyana F da Silva; Caue Ribeiro

doi:10.1021/acsami.3c18640

Cobalt Oxide on Boron-Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride as Bifunctional Photocatalysts for CO₂ Reduction and Hydrogen Evolution

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2024 Mar 7. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c18640. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jean C da Cruz^{1

2}, Gelson T S T da Silva¹, Eduardo H Dias^{2

3}, Diego S D Lima⁴, Juliana A Torres², Pollyana F da Silva^{2

3}, Caue Ribeiro²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, São Paulo 13565-905, Brazil.
² National Nanotechnology Laboratory for Agribusiness (LNNA), Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, São Paulo 13560-970Brazil.
³ São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (USP), São Carlos 13566-590, Brazil.
⁴ Institute of Chemistry, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, São Paulo 05508-000 Brazil.

PMID: 38452754
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c18640

Abstract

In this work, the prepared cobalt oxide decorated boron-doped g-C₃N₄ (CoOx/g-C₃N₄) heterojunction exhibits remarkable activity in CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR), resulting in high yields of CH₃COOH (∼383 μmol·g_catalyst^-1) and CH₃OH (∼371 μmol·g_catalyst^-1) with 58% selectivity to C₂₊ under visible light. However, the same system leads to high H₂ evolution (HER) by increasing the cobalt oxide content, suggesting that the selectivity and preference for the CO₂RR or HER depend on oxide decoration. By comparing HER and CO₂RR evolution in the same system, this work provides critical insights into the catalytic mechanism, indicating that the CoOx/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction formation is necessary to foster high visible light photoactivity.

Keywords: CO2 photoreduction; acetic acid; cobalt oxide; g-C3N4; hydrogen.

Publication types

Review