DFT Study on Regulating the Electronic Structure and CO2 Reduction Reaction in BiOBr/Sulphur-Doped G-C3N4 S-Scheme Heterojunctions

• Published in: Frontiers in nanotechnology Vol. 3
• Main Authors: Fei, Xingang, Zhang, Liuyang, Yu, Jiaguo, Zhu, Bicheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 22.06.2021
• Subjects: CO2 reduction; density functional theory; graphitic carbon nitride; heterojunctions; nonmetal doping; photocatalytic
• ISSN: 2673-3013; 2673-3013
• DOI: 10.3389/fnano.2021.698351

Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction is a promising method to mitigate the greenhouse effect and energy shortage problem. Development of effective photocatalysts is vital in achieving high photocatalytic activity. Herein, the S-scheme heterojunctions composed by BiOBr and g-C 3 N 4 with or without S doping are thoroughly investigated for CO 2 reduction by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Work function and charge density difference demonstrate the existence of a built-in electric field in the system, which contributes to the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Enhanced strength of a built-in electric field is revealed by analysis of Bader charge and electric field intensity. The results indicate that S doping can tailor the electronic structures and thus improve the photocatalytic activity. According to the change in absorption coefficient, system doping can also endow the heterojunction with increased visible light absorption. The in-depth investigation indicates that the superior CO 2 reduction activity is ascribed to low rate-determining energy. And both of the heterojunctions are inclined to generate CH 3 OH rather than CH 4 . Furthermore, S doping can further reduce the energy from 1.23 to 0.44 eV, indicating S doping is predicted to be an efficient photocatalyst for reducing CO 2 into CH 3 OH. Therefore, this paper provides a theoretical basis for designing appropriate catalysts through element doping and heterojunction construction.