S-Scheme Photocatalyst NH2–UiO-66/CuZnS with Enhanced Photothermal-Assisted CO2 Reduction Performances

Green and mild sunlight-driven photocatalysis has emerged as a promising technology for mitigating climate- and energy-related issues. In CO2 reduction reactions, metal–organic framework (MOF) materials are often compounded with inorganic semiconductor ZnS to form S-scheme photocatalysts that facilitate effective charge migration and separation across the composite interface. However, the large bandwidth of unmodified or modified ZnS remains a major hurdle in achieving efficient photocatalytic reactions. Therefore, this study aimed to reduce the band gap width of ZnS by incorporating Cu-doped ZnS(en)0.5 (CuZnS) as the inorganic semiconductor substrate and NH2–UiO-66 as the organometallic framework material to prepare NH2–UiO-66/CuZnS composite photocatalysts, ultimately realizing a thermally assisted photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction. With the help of photothermal conversion from CuZnS, the temperature of CO2 reduction increased to 54.2 °C, resulting in a fast kinetic showing an improved yield of 22.85 μmol g–1 h–1 via the photocatalytic route.