Boosting charge separation and photocatalytic CO2 reduction of CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots by hybridizing with P3HT

The suitable band structure and exceptional light harvesting abilities render lead halide perovskite (LHP) nanocrystals promising alternative for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. However, pristine LHPs usually exhibit unsatisfactory photocatalytic activity in CO2 reduction due to the high radiative recombination, low charge separation, and insufficient stability. To overcome these obstacles, herein, a poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT)/CsPbBr3 composite was fabricated by encapsulating the CsPbBr3 quantum dots (QDs) into a P3HT conducting polymer, which could act as a protective layer as well as a hole transporter. Owing to the efficient charge transfer brought by the synergic effect between the two components, the P3HT/CsPbBr3 composite exhibited outstanding photocatalytic performance in CO2 reduction, with an electron consumption rate high up to 475.3 mu mol g-1 h-1, which was approximately 10-times higher than that of pristine CsPbBr3 QDs. Our study provides new insight into the design and fabrication of conducting polymers/LHP heterogeneous photocatalysts, which show great potentials in artificial photosynthesis.