Work

Defect Engineering via La Doping and Hydrogenation on Bi4Ti3O12 for Synergistically Enhancing Photocatalytic CO2 to CH3OH

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Developing highly efficient photocatalysts for CO2 reduction remains a great challenge. The large band gap and poor charge carrier dynamics are the major factors limiting the performance of Bi4Ti3O12 (BTO). Herein, a series of La-doped Bi4Ti3O12 (BLaxTO) nanosheets were synthesized and further modified by NaBH4 hydrogenation to create surface defect-rich H-BLaXTO nanosheets. Characterizations and theoretical calculations confirmed that the synergistic effect of La doping and hydrogenation significantly enhanced visible-light absorption, promoted charge separation, and improved the electron reduction capacity. When applied to photocatalytic CO2 reduction, the H-BLa0.2TO catalyst achieved a superior CH3OH production rate of 7.90 μmol·g−1·h−1, which is 5.6 times higher than that of pristine Bi4Ti3O12. Moreover, the H-BLa0.2TO catalyst maintained excellent stability over four consecutive cycles. This study offers an integrated strategy for constructing high-performance bismuth-based photocatalysts through elemental doping and defect engineering.

Source: Catalysts

DOI: 10.3390/catal15090889

Authors: Lijun Xue, Yuxuan Wang, Chenhui Qiu, Hui Wan

Institutions: Nanjing Polytechnic Institute, Nanjing Tech University, The Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques

Subfield: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Field: Energy

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,654