Experimental study demonstrates superior photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction and selectivity in wurtzite CuInSnS4 nanocrystals, highlighting crystal-phase control for solar fuel synthesis.
Crystal-phase engineering has emerged as an effective strategy for regulating the electronic structure, optical behavior, and catalytic performance of semiconductor nanocrystals. Herein, we report a sulfur source-regulated method enabling the colloidal synthesis of CuInSnS4 (CITS) nanocrystals with zinc-blende (ZB) and wurtzite (WZ) structures. Comprehensive characterizations reveal that WZ-CITS nanocrystals exhibit enhanced visible-light absorption and a more negative conduction-band position compared with their ZB-CITS. Thus, the WZ-CITS nanocrystals deliver markedly enhanced performance in photocatalytic CO2 reduction compared with ZB-CITS nanocrystals, exhibiting both greater activity and improved selectivity toward CO production. This work demonstrates the important role of crystal-phase regulation in multinary chalcogenide nanocrystals and offers insights into the development of advanced photocatalysts for solar-driven fuel synthesis.
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Bao et al. (2026) studied this question.
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