Doping Sn4+ ionized cocatalyst in CdSe/S colloidal crystal for promoting photocatalytic CO2 reduction under visible light

Abstract

The exploration of low-cost and efficient cocatalysts is vitally important for attaining reliable and affordable photocatalytic CO2 conversion. Here, it is found that post-transition metal ions (Sn4+) doped CdSe/S colloidal crystal can serve as effective photocatalyst for CO2 reduction under visible light, in which Sn4+ serves as an ionized cocatalyst. Specifically, Sn4+ doped CdSe/S colloidal crystal shows an improved and stable photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance with CO generation rate of 50.3 μmol h−1 and H2 generation rate of 7.8 μmol h−1 in the presence of triethanolamine as sacrificial agent. The improved photocatalytic activity can be ascribed to the increased light harvesting ability, enhanced CO2 adsorption capability and the improved surface charge transfer efficiency induced by Sn4+ dopant.