Enhanced selective photocatalytic CO2 reduction into CO over Ag/CdS nanocomposites under visible light

Photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide can convert chemically inert carbon dioxide into useful chemical fuel in a mild manner. Herein, Ag-CdS nanocomposites were prepared by photodeposition method and examined for photocatalytic CO2 reduction under visible light. Meanwhile, the nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, DRS and PL in detail. The results show that, the deposition of Ag improves the photocatalytic performance of CdS, especially in the selectivity of CO2-to-CO. The highest photocatalytic activity is achieved over 1.0 wt.% Ag/CdS, with an increase by 3 times in comparison to CdS. In this reaction system, Ag can serve as electron trap as well as active site for CO2 reduction, which is probably responsible for the enhanced activity and selectivity of CO2 to CO over Ag/CdS. The possible mechanism of CO2 photoreduction over Ag/CdS was proposed in view of the abovementioned analysis. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.