Cu₂O@Cu@UiO-66-NH₂ Ternary Nanocubes\nfor Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

Abstract

Building\nheterostructure of photocatalysts is considered to be\npromising for boosting the efficiency of CO₂ photoreduction.\nHerein, we constructed Cu₂O@Cu@UiO-66-NH₂ ternary\nnanocubes via a simple solvothermal reaction for efficient photocatalytic\nCO₂ reduction to CO and CH₄. As UiO-66-NH₂ uniformly dispersed on Cu₂O@Cu, the well-defined\nnanocubes with p–n junctions and the presence of electron mediators\nendow the catalysts with promoted visible-light-absorbing capability\nand charge carrier density together with facilitated separation and\nmigration of photogenerated electrons, ultimately resulting in boosted\nphotocatalytic CO₂ reduction activity. Benefiting from\nthe ternary nanocube photocatalyst, the yields of CO and CH₄ reach to 20.9 and 8.3 μmol g^–1 h^–1, respectively. This study may afford a way to design and create\nnanocomposites for the photoreduction of CO₂.