Nitrogen doped In2S3 nanostructures integrated with In2O3 nanorods for photocatalytic CO2 reduction†

Nitrogen doped In₂S₃ (NIS) nanostructures integrated with In₂O₃ (IO) nanorods (NIS@IO) architectures were synthesized via simple reflux and heat treatment methods for the direct Z-scheme photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. Details structural characterization, compositional analysis and optical properties were carried out using scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-vis studies. The optimized NIS@IO nanoarchitecture showed photocatalytic CO₂ reduction activity with CO production rate of 10.81 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ with higher selectivity (∼92%) over CH₄ (0.94 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹). CO production rate by the optimized NIS@IO nanoarchitecture is ∼11 higher than that of pristine IO. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the optimized NIS@IO nanoarchitecture is attributed to the synergistic effects between IO and NIS which promote light absorption with reduced electron–hole pair recombination and smaller size of the NIS nanostructures and enhanced CO₂ adsorption due to N doping.