Limited by the chemical inertness of CO 2 and the high dissociation energy of the CO bond, photocatalytic CO 2 conversion is highly challenging. Herein, we prepare ultrathin oxygen-modified h-BN (O/BN) nanosheets containing B−O bonds. On the O/BN surface, CO 2 can be chemically captured and is bonded with the B−O bond, leading to the formation of an O−B−O bond. This new chemical bond acting as an electron-delivery channel strengthens the interaction between CO 2 and the surface. Thus, the reactants can continuously obtain electrons from the surface through this channel. Therefore, the majority of gaseous CO 2 directly converts into carbon active species that are detected by in situ DRIFTS over O/BN. Moreover, the activated energies of CO 2 conversion are significantly reduced with the introduction of the B−O bond evidenced by DFT calculations. As a result, O/BN nanosheets present an enhanced photocatalytic CO 2 conversion performance with the H 2 and CO generation rates of 3.3 and 12.5 μmol g −1 h −1 , respectively. This work could help in realizing the effects of nonmetal chemical bonds in the CO 2 photoreduction reaction for designing efficient photocatalysts.
Aluminum has been considered as a promising anode candidate for lithium ion batteries due to its low cost, high capacity and low equilibrium potential for lithiation/delithiation. However, the compact surface...
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