Realizing improved CO2 photoreduction in Z-scheme Bi4O5Br2/AgBr heterostructure

Architecting Z-scheme heterojunction can restrain the recombination of photoinduced carriers to improve the photocatalytic performance. However, it still lacks high-efficiency catalysts for sustainable photoreduction of CO 2 . Herein, an Ag-bridged Z-scheme Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 /AgBr heterostructure is successfully developed, which enables room-temperature CO 2 reduction driven by solar energy. In this catalyst, the Ag mediator acts as a bridge to shuttle electrons between Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 and AgBr, separating the electron-hole pairs efficiently and maintaining the original strong reduction reaction. As a result, Z-scheme Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 /AgBr heterostructures show obviously promoted performance of photocatalytic CO 2 reduction in contrast with pristine Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 , delivering a high CO 2 conversion activity of 6.6 and 1.8 μmol g -1 h −1 for CO and CH 4 products, respectively. This study reports an effective reference of Z-scheme Bi 4 O 5 Br 2 /AgBr heterojunction for satisfactory photocatalytic solar energy conversion and synthesis of high value-added products from CO 2 .