Construction of Hierarchical BiOI/MoS2/CdS Heterostructured Microspheres for Boosting Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction Under Visible Light

Efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction into clean chemical fuels using visible light remains an enormous challenge. Construction of hierarchical heterostructured photocatalysts has gained tremendous popularity due to their distinctive structural characteristics and synergetic effect that they can boost the visible-light photoactivities. Based on this, a three-step solvothermal method is proposed to construct hierarchical BiOI/MoS2/CdS heterostructured microspheres. The addition of MoS2 and CdS not only plays a significant role in the improvement of visible-light absorption, but also works as a carrier electron mediator, inhibiting the recombination of electrons-holes effectively. High CH4 yield (46.22 mu mol h(-1) g(-1)) and CO yield (36.98 mu mol h(-1) g(-1)) are achieved for BiOI/MoS2/CdS-0.03 heterostructured microspheres under simulated sunlight irradiation because of the wide solar light-driven response, abundant active sites and high charge separation ability. Therefore, this study provides an efficient strategy for constructing heterostructured catalysts with remarkable visible-light response photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity.

Automated summary

A three-step solvothermal method is proposed to construct hierarchical BiOI/MoS2/CdS heterostructured microspheres, which exhibit efficient CO2 reduction into CH4 and CO under simulated sunlight. The addition of MoS2 and CdS enhances visible-light absorption and effectively inhibits electron-hole recombination.