Anion vacancy correlated photocatalytic CO2 to CO conversion over quantum-confined CdS nanorods under visible light

Surface vacancies in II-VI semiconductors have been confirmed as active sites for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Here we take quantum-confined CdS nanorod as a model photocatalyst to correlate anion vacancies with photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance. In terms of electronic structure change, CdS nanorods with more surface S vacancies give enhanced CO generation rates, which were confirmed by deliberately introducing S vacancies via a post-treatment.

Automated summary

Surface vacancies in II-VI semiconductors, specifically CdS nanorods, have been identified as active sites for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. By intentionally introducing S vacancies through a post-treatment, it was confirmed that CdS nanorods with more surface S vacancies exhibit enhanced CO generation rates, attributed to changes in electronic structure.