Ag@imidazolium functionalized polymeric yolk–shell hybrid nanoparticles for economical CO 2 photoreduction

• Published in: Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 301 - 309
• Main Authors: Liu, Tuanwei, Fu, Guodong, Wu, Zhongjie, Kang, Zhongjie, Wei, Jinjian, Zhang, Zhide, Yang, Xinlin, Guo, Dian-Shun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 03.01.2023
• ISSN: 1463-9262; 1463-9270
• DOI: 10.1039/D2GC04028J

Inspired by green plant photosynthesis, the photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 into hydrocarbons is a promising approach to solve the environmental problem of excess CO 2 in the atmosphere. In addition to catalyst innovation, it is also necessary to develop a material combining multiple factors for economical CO 2 reduction. Herein, we design Ag@P(IVBC- co -DVB) yolk–shell nanoparticles (AIDNPs) that possess an Ag core and an imidazolium functionalized polymeric shell. The Ag nanoparticles transform excellent visible light absorption into hot electron/hole pairs via surface plasmon resonance, pairs which are directly shifted to the adsorbed CO 2 on the polymeric shell owing to the suitable core-to-shell diffusion distance of the material. As a result, CO 2 is photoreduced to HCOOH with a competitive efficiency of 396 μmol g cat −1 h −1 in the absence of a photosensitizer or a sacrificial reducing agent. The investigation of the factors related to the photocatalytic CO 2 production efficiency and the investigation of the photoelectric properties, as well as the proposed possible reduction mechanism provide a comprehensive model for efficient and economic CO 2 photoreduction.