Constructing atomic surface concaves on Bi5O7Br nanotube for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction

The development of advanced photocatalysts for CO2 reduction (CO2R) has attracted intensive interest but is severely plagued by the intrinsically narrow photo-responsive range, inefficient carrier separation of the current supports. Herein, the unconventional atomic surface concaves with Bi-O-Br complex vacancies on thin Bi5O7Br nanotubes were designed and successfully synthesized. This concave-rich structures provide electron localized enrichment regions that could address the above two issues simultaneously. The unique concaves serve as the active sites that enable the exceptional capacity for the capture and activation of CO2 and the formation of key intermediates. Ultimately, an ultrahigh CO yield rate of 30.96 μmol g−1 h−1 was obtained under ambient conditions without anchoring extra metal active species or any sacrificial agents. Our work not only provides a promising support but also proposes a unique structure to optimize the photocatalytic performance.