Boosting the Photocatalytic Activity of P25 for Carbon Dioxide Reduction by using a Surface‐Alkalinized Titanium Carbide MXene as Cocatalyst
Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 2018 papers
Abstract
Although they are widely used as cocatalysts in promoting photocatalysis, practical application of noble metals is limited by their high cost and rarity. Development of noble-metal-free cocatalysts is thus highly demanded. Herein titanium carbide (Ti3 C2 ) MXene is shown to be a highly efficient noble-metal-free cocatalyst with commercial titania (P25) for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Surface alkalinization of Ti3 C2 dramatically enhances the activity; the evolution rates of CO (11.74 μmol g-1 h-1 ) and CH4 (16.61 μmol g-1 h-1 ) are 3- and 277-times higher than those of bare P25, respectively. The significantly enhanced activity is attributed to the superior electrical conductivity and charge-carrier separation ability, as well as the abundant CO2 adsorption and activation sites of surface-alkalinized Ti3 C2 MXene, indicating its promise as a highly-active noble-metal-free cocatalysts for photocatalytic CO2 reduction.