The catalytic conversion of alcohols under mild conditions is a great challenge because it is constrained by low selectivity and low activity. Herein, we demonstrate a hollow nanotube Fe2O3/MoO3 heterojunction (FeMo‐2) for the photoelectrocatalytic conversion of small‐molecule alcohols. Experimental and theoretical analyses reveal that the optical carrier transfer rate is enhanced by constructing interfacial internal electric fields and Fe‐O‐Mo charge transfer channels. For the formox process, heterojunctions possess superior HCHO‐selective reaction paths and free energy transitions, optimizing the selectivity of HCHO and enhancing the reactivity. FeMo‐2 shows a greatly improved performance compared to single Fe2O3; the photocurrent density of FeMo‐2 reaches 0.66 mA cm−2, which is 3.88 times that of Fe2O3 (0.17 mA cm−2), and the Faraday efficiency of the CH3OH‐to‐HCHO conversion is 95.7 %. This work may deepen our understanding of interfacial charge separation and has potential for the production of HCHO and for conversion reactions of other small‐molecule alcohols at cryogenic temperatures.
Photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) CO2 reduction
to value-added
chemicals is a promising solution to address the energy and environmental
issues we face currently. Herein, a unique photocathode Bi@ZFO NTs
(Bi and α-Fe2O3 co-modified ZnO nanorod
arrays) with high utilization of visible light and sharp-tips effect
are successfully prepared using a facile method. Impressively, the
performance of Bi@ZFO NTs for PEC CO2 reduction to HCOOH
included small onset potential (−0.53 V vs RHE), Tafel slope
(101.2 mV dec–1), and a high faraday efficiency
of 61.2% at −0.65 V vs RHE as well as favorable stability over
4 h in an aqueous system under visible light illumination. Also, a
series of experiments were performed to investigate the origin of
its high activity, indicating that the metallic Bi and α-Fe2O3/ZnO nanojunction should be responsible for the
favorable CO2 adsorption/activation and charge transition/carrier
separation, respectively. Density functional theory calculations reveal
that the Bi@ZFO NTs could lower the intermediates’ energy barrier
of HCOO* and HCOOH* to form HCOOH due to the strong interaction of
Bi and α-Fe2O3/ZnO.
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