Mo–Bi–Cd Ternary Metal Chalcogenides: Highly Efficient Photocatalyst for CO2 Reduction to Formic Acid Under Visible Light

The exploration of efficient and cheap photocatalysts for the transformation of CO 2 into value-added chemicals is of great importance. Herein, we carried out the work on CO 2 reduction using ternary metal chalcogenides as photocatalysts. It was found that the ternary metal chalcogenides of (Mo–Bi)S x supported on mesoporous CdS ((Mo–Bi)S x /Meso CdS) was very active and selective for photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to HCOOH in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim]BF 4 )–acetonitrile (MeCN) mixed solvent under visible light. HCOOH was the only carbonaceous product and H 2 was the only byproduct. The rate of HCOOH formation could be as high as 208 μmol·g –1 ·h –1 with a 72% faradaic efficiency. The synergistic effect of the components played a key role for the outstanding performance of the catalyst; the catalyst and [Bmim]BF 4 further cooperated in promoting the reaction.