Construction of Few-Layer Ti₃C₂ MXene and Boron-Doped g-C₃N₄ for Enhanced Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

Abstract

The conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into high-value-added chemicals by photocatalysis is recognized as a potential method to ease the greenhouse effect and the global energy crisis simultaneously. Herein, boron-doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was combined with few-layer Ti3C2 MXene (FLTC) by electrostatic self-assembly. The composite exhibited superior performance to bare g-C3N4 and B-doped g-C3N4 (BCN). The optimized 12FLTC/BCN produced 3.2- and 8.9-times higher CO and CH4 yields, respectively, than bare g-C3N4 under visible light. Moreover, 12FLTC/BCN showed excellent stability during the cycling experiment. Several characterizations (photoluminescence, time-resolved photoluminescence, and i–t curves) were carried out to demonstrate the synergy of boron dopants and the addition of FLTC. Besides, 12FLTC/BCN showed enhanced separation of photoinduced carriers and accelerated charge transport, leading to better photocatalytic activity. We believe that this work will encourage more research on MXene-based photocatalysts for different photocatalysis processes including photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Engineering a surface defect-rich Ti3C2 quantum dots/mesoporous C3N4 hollow nanosphere Schottky junction for efficient N2 photofixation

“…11,12 Photocatalytic N 2 fixation over g-C 3 N 4 has been proven to be theoretically feasible, 13 nevertheless, bulk g-C 3 N 4 usually suffers from severe recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and poor transfer rate of charge carriers, resulting in low N 2 photofixation efficiency. 14,15 In principle, N 2 photofixation is a multi-charge transfer process, which requires the accumulation of multiple electrons on the N 2 adsorption sites of the photocatalyst. Therefore, it is essential to conquer the critical issues of poor charge carrier separation efficiency and transfer rate to realize highly effective N 2 photofixation on g-C 3 N 4 .…”

A zinc porphyrin polymer as efficient bifunctional catalyst for conversion of CO2 to cyclic carbonates

“…Mass spectrometry (MS) was performed using an electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ESI-QTOF MS, Dionex Mate 3000). 1 H NMR spectra were recorded by the AVANCE III 400 MHz instrument. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image was collected on a Quanta 400FEG microscope.…”

“…The greenhouse effect has caused global temperatures to rise, resulting in rising sea levels and more extreme weather. Excessive accumulation of CO 2 has caused the greenhouse effect [1][2][3][4]. At present, controlling CO 2 emissions, effectively converting excess CO 2 , and establishing a healthy carbon cycle are common problems faced by mankind.…”

Tailor‐Engineered 2D Cocatalysts: Harnessing Electron–Hole Redox Center of 2D g‐C3N4 Photocatalysts toward Solar‐to‐Chemical Conversion and Environmental Purification

“…It has confirmed that the role of MXene with excellent electronic conductivity boosts the separation and migration of the photoinduced carriers. [ 164 ] These few reported works have demonstrated the diverse use of MXene cocatalysts in enhancing 2D g‐C 3 N 4 based semiconductors in numerous photocatalytic applications.…”