Enhanced Photoreduction CO2 Activity over Direct Z-Scheme α-Fe2O3/Cu2O Heterostructures under Visible Light Irradiation

Hematite–cuprous oxide (α-Fe2O3/Cu2O) nanocomposites are synthesized based on the design of Z-scheme photocatalyst for CO2 reduction. The band structure for the typical Fe2O3/Cu2O (with 1:1 mole ratio) is characterized by UV–vis reflectance spectroscopy and X-ray/ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and its heterojunction is determined to be Type II band alignment. The photoreduction CO2 activities of the heterostructures are investigated in the presence of water vapor. The CO yields are changed with Fe/Cu mole ratio, and the maximal CO yield attains 5.0 μmol·g cat–1 after 3 h of visible-light irradiation. Besides the effect of light wavelength, H2O/CO2 molar ratio and temperature on the products is studied. The selectivity of the prepared catalysts is tunable by modulating the light wavelength. The reaction mechanism is proposed and further confirmed experimentally. The results gained herein may provide some insights into the design of Z-scheme photocatalysts for CO2 reduction.