Metallic MoO2-Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride Boosting Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction via Schottky Junction

Directly using solar energy to realize photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to hydrocarbon fuels is an effective tactics to solve the energy crisis and carbon emission. Although graphite carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) has been widely studied as a star photocatalyst for CO 2 reduction, the extremely fast charge recombination rate seriously limits its performance. Loading suitable co-catalysts to construct an effective junction is considered an efficient way to solve this issue and promote photocatalytic performance. In this work, metallic molybdenum dioxide (MoO 2 ) is dispersed on g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets to construct a Schottky junction photocatalyst. The Schottky junction between MoO 2 and g-C 3 N 4 induces efficient charge separation and transfer. As a result, the optimal MoO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 Schottky junction photocatalyst exhibits a 15 times higher CH 4 yield and five times higher CO yield compared with pure g-C 3 N 4 . This article provides a new route to construct a Schottky junction for boosting photocatalytic activity.