Niobium and Titanium Carbides (MXenes) as Superior Photothermal Supports for CO₂ Photocatalysis

Abstract

The conversion of CO2 into fuels and feedstock chemicals via photothermal catalysis holds promise for efficient solar energy utilization to tackle the global energy shortage and climate change. Despite recent advances, it is of emerging interest to explore promising materials with excellent photothermal properties to boost the performance of photothermal CO2 catalysis. Here, we report the discovery of MXene materials as superior photothermal supports for metal nanoparticles. As a proof-of-concept study, we demonstrate that Nb2C and Ti3C2, two typical MXene materials, can enhance the photothermal effect and thus boost the photothermal catalytic activity of Ni nanoparticles. A record CO2 conversion rate of 8.50 mol·gNi –1·h–1 is achieved for Nb2C-nanosheet-supported Ni nanoparticles under intense illumination. Our study bridges the gap between photothermal MXene materials and photothermal CO2 catalysis toward more efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversions and stimulates the interest in MXene-supported metal nanoparticles for other heterogeneous catalytic reactions, particularly driven by sunlight.

Titanium Carbide (Ti3C2) MXene as a Promising Co-catalyst for Photocatalytic CO2 Conversion to Energy-Efficient Fuels: A Review

“…Under 300 W Xe light with an intensity of 36 suns, the Ni/Nb 2 C catalyst achieved the highest CO 2 conversion rate of 8.5 mol g −1 h −1 . 190 Therefore, this study successfully Table 1. continued bridges the gap between photothermal CO 2 methanation and photothermal MXene materials toward more efficient solar-tochemical energy conversion.…”

Embedding CdS@Au into Ultrathin Ti3–xC2Ty to Build Dual Schottky Barriers for Photocatalytic H2 Production

“…Recently, a new two-dimensional (2D) layered transition-metal carbide/carbonitride/nitride family, MXenes, entered the vision of chemists in many scientific fields, such as energy storage and conversion, electromagnetic wave absorption and shielding, , sensing, and photocatalysis. − In the field of photocatalysis for H 2 production, Ti 3 C 2 is one of the most extensively studied MXenes because (1) the good hydrophilic ability is favorable for the reactions occurring in the aqueous environment, (2) the good electrical conductivity favors the separation and transfer of photoinduced charge carriers from semiconductors, , and (3) the appropriate work function enables it to form a Schottky heterojunction with most semiconductors. ,− In addition, diversiform types of Ti 3 C 2 including quantum dots (QDs), accordion-like multilayers, and single- or few-layered ultrathin nanosheets (NSs) further extended its scope of application. Pioneering work has been done by Ran et al, where the Ti 3 C 2 QDs were verified to be an effective cocatalyst of CdS for photocatalytic H 2 production under visible-light irradiation .…”

Cobalt‐Sputtered Anodic Aluminum Oxide Membrane for Efficient Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation

“…For example, several studies found that the light‐absorption ability can be enhanced by increasing the loading amount of metal nanoparticles [4–5] . We recently reported that MXene materials could serve as light absorptive supports to boost photothermal catalytic performance [6] . Other researchers have also developed strategies to manipulate light by designing structured catalysts.…”