In situ-illuminated XPS Investigation of S-Scheme Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Nanofiber Photocatalysts for Efficient CO₂ Photoreduction

Abstract

The photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ for the production of solar fuels without sacrificing agents is an environmentally friendly and important process, with the development of high-performance photocatalysts being a key focus. An inorganic/organic semiconducting pair with an S-scheme mechanism has been incorporated in a hybrid fiber morphology designed specifically for an S-scheme heterojunction. Specifically, polydopamine (PDA) nanoparticles were synthesized within the walls of TiO₂ nanofibers through in situ self-polymerization of dopamine hydrochloride. The TiO₂@PDA composite photocatalyst with 1.0% PDA decoration exhibited the highest CO yield of 19.15 µmol·h⁻¹·g·⁻¹, which was 2.6 times greater than that of pure TiO₂ (7.25 µmol·h⁻¹·g·⁻¹). By combining PDA and TiO₂ nanofibers arranged in an S-scheme heterojunction can be attributed to the improved light absorption and the effective charge carrier separation and transfer. Consequently, this research introduces a novel approach for developing inorganic/organic S-scheme heterojunctions with a fiber morphology to enhance CO₂ photoreduction efficiency.

Keywords

TiO₂ nanofiber / Polydopamine / Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction / S-Scheme mechanism / Solar fuel

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Jilin University, The Editorial Department of Chemical Research in Chinese Universities and Springer-Verlag GmbH