@article{Wang2025, 
author = {Xiong Wang and Lin Han and Xuanzhen Li and Zhiling Tang and Yingli Wang and Jiaman Wang and Zhenpeng Wang and Xiaolong Quan and Jing Xiong and Yuechang Wei and Jian Liu and Zhen Zhao},
title = {Z-scheme heterojunction in CdS-decorated 3D flower-like CdIn2S4 nanospheres for enhancing visible light-driven CO2 reduction},
year = {2025},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {18},
number = {12},
pages = {94908239},
keywords = {CO2 reduction, photocatalysts, CdS, Z-scheme heterojunction, CdIn2S4},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2025.94908239},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2025.94908239},
abstract = {Design of efficient Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts remains a pivotal challenge in photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) flower-like CdIn2S4 nanosphere photocatalyst decorated with CdS nanoparticles (CdS/CdIn2S4) was successfully synthesized via a one-pot solvothermal method. The unique hierarchical architecture exposes enhanced light-harvesting interfaces and abundant reactive sites, while coupling CdS with CdIn2S4 constructs a direct Z-scheme heterojunction at the interface that promotes photogenerated electron migration and charge separation efficiency. The optimized CdS/CdIn2S4-10 catalyst achieves exceptional visible-light-driven CO2 reduction performance with a CO production rate of 12.9 μmol·g−1·h−1 and 100% selectivity, representing 8-fold and 5-fold enhancements over pristine CdS and CdIn2S4, respectively. In-situ diffuse reflection infrared fourier transform spectra (DRIFTS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate the mechanism for photocatalytic CO2 reduction: the built-in electric field at the interface of the Z-scheme heterojunction drives directional electron transfer to enable spatial separation of high-redox-potential photogenerated charge carriers, with *COOH intermediate formation identified as the key step to realize the photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to CO. This work provides fundamental insights for constructing high-efficiency Z-scheme photocatalytic systems.}
}