A photothermal MXene-derived heterojunction for boosted CO2 reduction and tunable CH4 selectivity.

Abstract

We report here a Bi₂WO₆/Ti₃C₂T_x@Ag (BT@Ag) photothermal photocatalyst for efficient CO₂ reduction with tunable CH₄ selectivity. Incorporation of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene creates well-defined heterointerfaces between Bi₂WO₆ and Ti₃C₂T_x and converts thermal energy upon light illumination via photothermal effect, which contributes to a mitigation of the recombination of photo-induced charge carries for a high electron mobility. Density functional theory calculations substantiate that Ti₃C₂T_x functions as the adsorption site and active center where the transferred electrons are effectively involved in CO₂ reduction for enhanced CH₄ selectivity. Moreover, the in situ deposited Ag nanoparticles demonstrate an exceptional surface plasmon resonance effect, giving rise to additional hot electrons that further benefits the CH₄ generation.