Oxygen Vacancy-Enriched N-Doped In₂O₃ Double-Shell Hollow Dodecahedrons Decorated with Au and Co₃O₄ Nanoparticles for the Photocatalytic CO₂ Conversion

Abstract

Converting CO 2 into useful chemicals or fuels through photocatalysis makes an important contribution to mitigating energy shortages and climate change. Effective separation of photogenerated charges, as well as related surface states, plays a crucial role in semiconductor photocatalytic systems for efficient photocatalytic CO 2 reduction. In this research, to enhance the performance of In 2 O 3 on photocatalytic CO 2 reduction, we prepared unique N-doped In 2 O 3 double-shell hollow dodecahedrons coupled with Au and Co 3 O 4 dualcocatalysts (Au/N−In 2 O 3 /Co 3 O 4 ). The experimental analysis showed that dual-cocatalysts, double-shell hollow structure, and oxygen vacancies induced by N-doping can greatly achieve charge separation/utilization efficiency and increase active sites, visible light absorption, and the CO 2 adsorption capacity. The synergy of these positive factors makes the optimized hybrid catalyst exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity, and the average yields of CO and CH 4 under simulated solar irradiation were 96.1 and 19.9 μmol h −1 g −1 , respectively, which were approximately twice as high as the yields of pure In 2 O 3 . This work reports a feasible strategy for establishing an In 2 O 3 -involved excellent photocatalytic CO 2 reduction system.