Lead-Free Halide Perovskite Cs₂AgBiBr₆/Bismuthene Composites for Improved CH₄ Production in Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide CO 2 photocatalytic conversion into value-added fuels through solar energy is a promising way of storing renewable energy while simultaneously reducing the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere. Lead-based halide perovskites have recently shown great potential in various applications such as solar cells, optoelectronics, and photocatalysis. Even though they show high performance, the high toxicity of Pb 2+ along with poor stability under ambient conditions restrains the application of these materials in photocatalysis. In this respect, we developed an in situ assembly strategy to fabricate the lead-free double perovskite Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 on a 2D bismuthene nanosheet prepared by a ligand-assisted reprecipitation method for a liquid-phase CO 2 photocatalytic reduction reaction. The composite improved the production and selectivity of the eight-electron CH 4 pathway compared with the two-electron CO pathway, storing more of the light energy harvested by the photocatalyst. The Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 /bismuthene composite shows a photocatalytic activity of 1.49(±0.16) μmol g –1 h –1 CH 4, 0.67(±0.14) μmol g –1 h –1 CO, and 0.75(±0.20) μmol g –1 h –1 H 2, with a CH 4 selectivity of 81(±1)% on an electron basis with 1 sun. The improved performance is attributed to the enhanced charge separation and suppressed electron–hole recombination due to good interfacial contact between the perovskite and bismuthene promoted by the synthesis method.