A tube-like dual Z-scheme indium oxide@indium phosphide/cuprous oxide photocatalyst based on metal–organic framework for efficient CO2 reduction with water

Developing a photocatalyst for efficient reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is a long-term goal to address global climate change. In this work, a tube-like indium oxide@indium phosphide/cuprous oxide ( In 2 O 3 @InP/Cu 2 O) photocatalyst was prepared by annealing-phosphidation of In-Materials of Institute Lavoisier-68 (In-MIL-68) followed by electrodeposition of Cu 2 O, which was used to reduce CO 2 with water under light irradiation . Partial phosphidation of In 2 O 3 endowed In 2 O 3 @InP/Cu 2 O with strong light-harvesting ability. The In 2 O 3 @InP heterojunction combined with in situ loaded Cu 2 O provided a dual Z-scheme heterojunction for efficient electrons-holes separation. Under the synergisms of each component, the optimized In 2 O 3 @InP 60 /Cu 2 O-1 exhibited strong adsorption of CO 2 and excellent photocatalytic performance in CO 2 reduction. The yields of CO and CH 4 were 13.7 and 38.8 μmol g −1 , respectively, after 5 h simulated light illumination, higher than the corresponding yields with In 2 O 3 (CO: 7.2 μmol g −1 , CH 4 : 13.2 μmol g −1 ). This study may provide some insights into the design of specific ternary photocatalysts with dual Z-scheme charge transfer mode for CO 2 reduction.