Decorating g-C3N4 with alkalinized Ti3C2 MXene for promoted photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance

• Published in: Journal of colloid and interface science Vol. 564; pp. 406 - 417
• Main Authors: Tang, Qijun, Sun, Zhuxing, Deng, Shuang, Wang, Haiqiang, Wu, Zhongbiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 22.03.2020
• Subjects: adsorption; Alkalized Ti3C2; carbon dioxide; carbon monoxide; carbon nitride; catalysts; electrical conductivity; fuels; g-C3N4; graphene; irradiation; light; mixing; MXenes; nitrogen; photocatalysis; Photocatalytic CO2 reduction; titanium; g-C3N4; Alkalized Ti3C2; Photocatalytic CO2 reduction; MXenes
• ISSN: 0021-9797; 1095-7103; 1095-7103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.12.091

[Display omitted] Photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) under visible light irradiation for producing high-value fuel has attracted tremendous attention in recent years. In this study, titanium carbide MXene (Ti3C2) was used as a noble metal-free co-catalyst by simply mixing graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and alkalized Ti3C2. The carbon monoxide evolution rate of the optimized composite (5%TCOH-CN) from photocatalytic reduction of CO2 was 5.9 times higher than that of pure g-C3N4. Alkalized Ti3C2 was responsible for the superior photocatalytic activity due to its excellent electrical conductivity and large CO2 adsorption capacity. Furthermore, the separation of the photo-induced electron–hole pairs was greatly enhanced because of the large Fermi level difference between alkalized Ti3C2 and pure g-C3N4. This work demonstrates the potential of MXenes as noble metal-free co-catalyst for photocatalysis processes such as carbon dioxide reduction reaction and nitrogen reduction reaction.