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Lattice-strained nanotubes facilitate efficient natural sunlight-driven CO2 photoreduction

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Abstract

Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 holds tremendous promise for alleviating the energy crisis. Despite the progress that has been made, there are still some challenges to overcome, such as the realization under real sunlight rather than the simulation condition. In this work, ultrathin Ni2(OH)(PO4) nanotubes (NTs) prepared through hydrothermal route are applied as a novel catalyst for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 under real sunlight. The prepared Ni2(OH)(PO4) NTs exhibit a 11.3 µmol·h−1 CO production rate with 96.1% CO selectivity. Interestingly, Ni2(OH)(PO4) NTs have a positive impact on the facilitation of photoreduction in diluted CO2. Notably, when the system is performed under real sunlight, Ni2(OH)(PO4) NTs afford an accumulated CO of ca. 26.8 µmol with 96.9% CO selectivity, exceeding most previous inorganic catalysts under simulated irradiation in the laboratory. Our experimental results demonstrate that the multisynergetic effects induced by surface-OH and the lattice strain serve as highly active sites for CO2 molecular adsorption and activation as well as electron transfer, hence enhancing photoreduction activity. Therefore, this work provides experimental basis that CO2 photocatalysis can be put into practical use.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21777046 and 21836002), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFA0210400), the Guangdong Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program (No. 2016ZT06N569), the Guangdong Science and Technology Program (No. 2020B121201003), and the Science Technology Project of Guangzhou (No. 201803030002). In addition, we gratefully thank Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility at beamline 4W1B for providing us the beam time and discussion.

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  1. Shujie Liang and Xueming Liu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Energy, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Wastes Pollution Control and Recycling, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Shujie Liang, Xueming Liu, Zuqi Zhong, Bin Han, Xiaohui Zhong, Weiyi Chen, Kainan Song, Hong Deng & Zhang Lin

  2. Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center for Environmental Nanomaterials, The Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters (Ministry of Education), Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Hong Deng & Zhang Lin

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  1. Shujie Liang
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  2. Xueming Liu
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  4. Bin Han
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  8. Hong Deng
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  9. Zhang Lin
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Correspondence to Hong Deng.

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Liang, S., Liu, X., Zhong, Z. et al. Lattice-strained nanotubes facilitate efficient natural sunlight-driven CO2 photoreduction. Nano Res. 14, 2558–2567 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-3252-4

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