Photoelectrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Syngas on N-Modified Self-Supporting Ny-Cu2O/CuF Photocathode
摘要
Photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) with water (H2O) into syngas not only alleviates energy and environmental crises but also provides feed gas for producing high-value chemicals. In this study, self-supported Ny-Cu2O/CuFs are successfully prepared using copper foam as a precursor, following a self-assembly strategy to fabricate a PEC system for converting CO2 and H2O into syngas. N-doping facilitates the preferential growth of Cu2O (111) crystal planes in Ny-Cu2O/CuF, resulting in high surface oxygen vacancies. Simultaneously, appropriate surface electronic structure and good light capture capability endow the synthesized material with excellent PEC properties, achieving a syngas yield 2.5 times higher than that of the unmodified CuxO/CuF, with a CO yield of 58.72 μmol/(cm2·h) and the lowest H2/CO ratio of 1.6. This study provides a promising strategy for developing high-performance photocathodes for CO2-efficient conversion.