Hierarchically structured semiconductor@noble-metal@MOF for high-performance selective photocatalytic CO₂ reduction

Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to convert solar energy to clean energy remains a critical challenge in exploring efficient catalysts. Herein, a hierarchical structured BiVO₄@Au@UiO-66-NH₂ with high photocatalytic activity was fabricated. The theoretical calculations revealed that the metal–organic framework (MOF) with relative higher conduction band (CB) and UiO-66-NH₂ with relative lower valence band (VB) could absorb full light spectrum, combining Au nanoparticle with suitable Fermi level into a particulate tandem heterojunction. This configuration can not only lower the activation barrier of CO₂ reduction using the rich active site of MOF, but also improve the selectivity toward CO by optimizing the reaction pathway. Notably, the experimental evaluation proved that BiVO₄@Au@UiO-66-NH₂ displays a producing rate of 232.7 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ for CO and a selectivity of 97.2%. The investigation reveals that elaborately integrating multiple functional components into such a hierarchical structure enables optimizing crucial processes in photocatalytic CO₂ conversion and enhancing selectivity via synergistic catalysis.