Cerium doped dibismuthoxysulfide flowers for boosting CO2 photoreduction

Abstract

Photocatalytic CO2 conversion is one of the major ways to simultaneously decelerate the greenhouse effect and the energy crisis. In this work, cerium doped dibismuthoxysulfide (Ce–Bi2O2S) photocatalysts were fabricated via a hydrothermal method, and the influence of Ce doping on their photocatalytic CO2 reduction was evaluated under simulated solar irradiation. It was found that Ce4+/Ce3+ ions were successfully incorporated into the crystal lattice of Bi2O2S. The Ce–Bi2O2S with CO and CH4 generation rates of 5.11 μmol/g/h and 1.41 μmol/g/h, which was more than 1.9 and 2.0 times greater than those obtained for pure Bi2O2S, respectively. The enhanced CO2 reduction performance of Ce–Bi2O2S is ascribed to the acceleration of the charge separation in the presence of Ce4+/Ce3+. Therefore, this work provides a promising direction for design high-active Ce doped bismuth-containing photocatalysts for solar fuel generation.