Semiconductor photocatalytic reduction of CO2 is one of the possible ways to utilize CO2 resources in the future. In order to further improve the yield and selectivity of the reduction products, it is essential to regulate the active sites and the local energy of the catalyst. In this work, Pb-doped CuMoO4 nanocrystal was prepared for the highly selective photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO. The CO yield is increased by 6.45 times, reaching 4.65 μmol g–1 h–1, and the CO selectivity is as high as 95%. The incorporation of Pb endows the catalyst with superior electron transfer properties and an optimized band structure. DFT calculations further reveal that the bimetallic sites formed by Pb and Cu significantly promote the adsorption and activation of CO2 on the catalyst surface. This work offers a reliable scheme for the preparation of high-performance catalysts and valuable insights into the mechanism of CO2 photocatalytic reduction.
Shen et al. (Mon,) studied this question.