CO2 photocatalytic conversion into value-added
fuels
through solar energy is a promising way of storing renewable energy
while simultaneously reducing the concentration of CO2 in
the atmosphere. Lead-based halide perovskites have recently shown
great potential in various applications such as solar cells, optoelectronics,
and photocatalysis. Even though they show high performance, the high
toxicity of Pb2+ along with poor stability under ambient
conditions restrains the application of these materials in photocatalysis.
In this respect, we developed an in situ assembly strategy to fabricate
the lead-free double perovskite Cs2AgBiBr6 on
a 2D bismuthene nanosheet prepared by a ligand-assisted reprecipitation
method for a liquid-phase CO2 photocatalytic reduction
reaction. The composite improved the production and selectivity of
the eight-electron CH4 pathway compared with the two-electron
CO pathway, storing more of the light energy harvested by the photocatalyst.
The Cs2AgBiBr6/bismuthene composite shows a
photocatalytic activity of 1.49(±0.16) μmol g–1 h–1 CH4, 0.67(±0.14) μmol
g–1 h–1 CO, and 0.75(±0.20)
μmol g–1 h–1 H2, with a CH4 selectivity of 81(±1)% on an electron
basis with 1 sun. The improved performance is attributed to the enhanced
charge separation and suppressed electron–hole recombination
due to good interfacial contact between the perovskite and bismuthene
promoted by the synthesis method.