Illuminating the Path to Sustainable Energy: Unraveling the Secrets of Ce-Modified UiO-66/Er-TiO2 Composite for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is considered a promising metal oxide due to its good stability and appropriate conduction band potential. However, photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction solely with TiO2 is still limited by the low solar energy conversion efficiency. To enhance the photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction performance, researchers synthesized a composite material based on Er-doped TiO2 and Ce-modified UiO-66(Zr) using a simple solvent evaporation method. The experimental results reveal that compared with pristine UiO-66, this composite material exhibits a significantly improved CO2 conversion rate and product selectivity. The excellent activity of this catalyst is attributed to the direct Z-type heterojunction, which greatly improves photogenerated charge separation. Furthermore, UiO-66 (Zr/Ce)/Er-TiO2 (henceforth U1(0.5% Er-T3)) composite material exhibited excellent cycling stability in five consecutive stability tests, indicating long-term application potential. This research underscores the importance of designing and modifying MOF-based photocatalysts for efficient CO2 reduction and provides valuable insights for the development of sustainable energy conversion systems.