Black phosphorus/Bi2MoO6 Z-scheme heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction

The photocatalytic CO2 reaction is considered to be an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents how a novel and efficient 2D/2D black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNS)-Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst was synthesized and used for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Compared to Bi2MoO6, the photocatalytic activity of the BPNS-Bi2MoO6 composite photocatalyst was significantly improved. When the mass ratio of BPNS to Bi2MoO6 was 1:100, the BPNS-Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst exhibited optimal activity for photocatalytic CO2 reduction, and the production of CO reached 72.8 & mu;mol g(-1) after reaction for 4 h, which is 1.5 times more than that of Bi2MoO6. Moreover, the BPNS-Bi2MoO6 showed high stability for the photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction; after reaction for four cycle experiments, the production of CO only reduced by 10%. The enhanced light absortion, enhanced separation of electrons and holes, and the tight 2D/2D heterojunction formed between BPNS and Bi2MoO6 account for the high photocatalytic performance of BPNS/Bi2MoO6.