Cu₂O@Cu@UiO-66-NH₂ Ternary Nanocubes for Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

Building heterostructure of photocatalysts is considered to be promising for boosting the efficiency of CO2 photoreduction. Herein, we constructed Cu2O@Cu@UiO-66-NH2 ternary nanocubes via a simple solvothermal reaction for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CO and CH4. As UiO-66-NH2 uniformly dispersed on Cu2O@Cu, the well-defined nanocubes with p–n junctions and the presence of electron mediators endow the catalysts with promoted visible-light-absorbing capability and charge carrier density together with facilitated separation and migration of photogenerated electrons, ultimately resulting in boosted photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity. Benefiting from the ternary nanocube photocatalyst, the yields of CO and CH4 reach to 20.9 and 8.3 μmol g–1 h–1, respectively. This study may afford a way to design and create nanocomposites for the photoreduction of CO2.