Synthesis of Co-loaded CdS/BiVO₄ composite material and utilization in visible-light-driven photocatalytic reduction of CO₂

A novel Co-CdS/BiVO₄ composite material was synthesized via hydrothermal, chemical precipitation and chemical reduction approaches for the photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 . The as-synthesized Co-CdS/BiVO 4 composite was meticulously characterized using a suite of advanced techniques, namely scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (In situ XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–vis). The incorporation of Co markedly facilitates the dissociation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and expedites charge transfer. Photocatalytic experiments corroborate that this material displays remarkable performance under visible-light irradiation, attaining a CO yield of 23.17 μmol·g −1 ·h −1 . Remarkably, its performance remains steady at 22.77 μmol·g −1 ·h −1 even after four successive cycles. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations disclose that the heterojunction architecture constituted between CdS and BiVO 4 serves as the cornerstone for the augmentation of photocatalytic performance. Meanwhile, Co acts as a catalyst optimizer, further enhancing the catalytic efficacy by bolstering interfacial charge migration. In this study, the developed Co-CdS/BiVO 4 composite material exhibits remarkable application potential in the realm of solar-driven CO ₂ conversion.