Highly stable lead-free perovskite Cs2AgBiBr6/UiO-66 Z-scheme heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity for CO2 photoreduction and organic dyes degradation

Excessive combustion of traditional fossil fuels causes seriously global warming (Carbon dioxide, CO2) and energy crisis. Photocatalytic CO2 conversion to fuels has emerged as one of the most effective strategies. Herein, an environmentally friendly nanocomposite based on lead-free Cs2AgBiBr6 (CABB) perovskite nanocrystals and the UiO-66 metal–organic framework was fabricated by a facile ultrasonic process for efficient CO2 photoreduction. The obtained CABB/UiO-66 consisted of uniform CABB nanocrystals (10–12 nm) attached to the UiO-66 surface and exhibited a high surface area (1031 m2/g). The composite displayed enhanced light-harvesting capacity than the individual components and provided sufficient active sites for promoting photocatalytic activity. A typical Z-scheme heterostructure between the CABB and UiO-66 was realized by forming an inner electric field, leading to the occurrence of efficient excited state charge transfer. The efficient charge transfer of CABB/UiO-66 inspired its use as an active photocatalyst for the reduction of CO2 with significantly improved photocatalytic activity against its individual components. Specifically, CABB/UiO-66 exhibited 38 and 40-fold improvement in catalytic activity compared to respective CABB and UiO-66 in terms of the total yield of CO, CH4, and C2H6. Moreover, the nanocomposite displayed excellent activity towards the oxidative photocatalytic degradation of aqueous environmental contaminant rhodamine B. We believe that this work provides a guide for designing lead-free perovskite-based renewable catalysts and offers new opportunities for the photocatalytic conversion of CO2 photoreduction.