Hierarchical Hollow TiO2@Bi2WO6 with Light-Driven Excited Bi(3–x)+ Sites for Efficient Photothermal Catalytic CO2 Reduction

Converting CO 2 into valuable chemicals via sustainable energy sources is indispensable for human development. Photothermal catalysis combines the high selectivity of photocatalysis and the high yield of thermal catalysis, which is promising for CO 2 reduction. However, the present photothermal catalysts suffer from low activity due to their poor light absorption ability and fast recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. Here, a TiO 2 @Bi 2 WO 6 heterojunction photocatalyst featuring a hierarchical hollow structure was prepared by an in situ growth method. The visible light absorption and photothermal effect of the TiO 2 @Bi 2 WO 6 photocatalyst is promoted by a hierarchical hollow structure, while the recombination phenomenon is significantly mitigated due to the construction of the heterojunction interface and the existence of excited Bi (3– x )+ sites. Such a catalyst exhibits excellent photothermal performance with a CO yield of 43.7 μmol h –1 g –1, which is 15 and 4.7 times higher than that of pure Bi 2 WO 6 and that of physically mixed TiO 2 /Bi 2 WO 6, respectively. An in situ study shows that the pathway for the transformation of CO 2 into CO over our TiO 2 @Bi 2 WO 6 proceeds via two important intermediates, including COO – and COOH – . Our work provides a new idea of excited states for the design and synthesis of highly efficient photothermal catalysts for CO 2 conversion.