Sustained CO<sub>2</sub>-photoreduction activity and high selectivity over Mn, C-codoped ZnO core-triple shell hollow spheres.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34400631.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-25007-6 and PMC identifier 8368040.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Solar conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> into energy-rich products is one of the sustainable solutions to lessen the global energy shortage and environmental crisis. Pitifully, it is still challenging to attain reliable and affordable CO<sub>2</sub> conversion. Herein, we demonstrate a facile one-pot approach to design core-triple shell Mn, C-codoped ZnO hollow spheres as efficient photocatalysts for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction. The Mn ions, with switchable valence states, function as "ionized cocatalyst" to promote the CO<sub>2</sub> adsorption and light harvesting of the system. Besides, they can capture photogenerated electrons from the conduction band of ZnO and provide the electrons for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction. This process is continuous due to the switchable valence states of Mn ions. Benefiting from such unique features, the prepared photocatalysts demonstrated fairly good CO<sub>2</sub> conversion performance. This work is endeavoured to shed light on the role of ionized cocatalyst towards sustainable energy production.