In situ growth of Fe-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework on MXene for boosting photodriven CO2 cycloaddition

Photodriven CO 2 conversion has been widely recognized as an effective pathway for achieving carbon neutrality. In this paper, we demonstrate the immobilization of bimetallic Zn/Fe ZIF onto the surface of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene via an in situ growth process for photodriven solvent-free CO 2 cycloaddition. MXene can extend the optical response of bimetallic ZIF into the near-infrared region. In turn, the incorporated MOF particles effectively prevent the layers of MXene from stacking. The resulting Zn 20 Fe 1 -ZIF/MXene has improved activity (96% yield) in the cycloaddition of epichlorohydrin with 1 bar CO 2 under full spectrum illumination (350 mW/cm 2 ) for 6 h, ca. 3.4, 1.7, and 1.2 times higher than those of pure Zn 20 Fe 1 -ZIF, MXene, and the physical mixture, respectively. Besides, this hybrid catalyst provides desirable stability and performance even after several catalytic cycles, exposure to humid environment or under diluted CO 2 (15%). Control experiments and infrared thermography reveal the synergistic photocatalytic-photothermal contribution of hybrid materials to the photoinduced CO 2 fixation. Our research offers a facile method to construct MOF containing photocatalysts for application of CO 2 conversion with high practical utility.