Coupling ferroelectric polarization and anisotropic charge migration for enhanced CO2 photoreduction

CO2 photoreduction into solar fuels is promising for generating renewable energy. Herein, SrBi2Nb2O9 nanosheets are prepared as high-performance photocatalysts for CO2 reduction, highlighting superiority of ferroelectric polarization and anisotropic charge migration. Ferroelectric polarization within SrBi2Nb2O9 nanosheets provides an in-built electric field, which greatly facilitates the bulk charge separation. Also, the photogenerated electrons and holes migrate separately to the NbO6 octahedral layers and within the ab-plane in the Bi2O2 layers, achieving efficient anisotropic charge migration. Without co-catalyst or sacrificial agent, SrBi2Nb2O9 nanosheets show outstanding CO2 reduction activity in producing CH4. The ferroelectric polarization is further enhanced by electric poling and annealing post-treatments. The electrically poled SrBi2Nb2O9 shows a high CH4 evolution rate of 25.91 μmol g−1 h−1 with an AQE of 1.96 % at 365 nm, exceeding most of state-of-the-art photocatalysts reported to date. This work paves an avenue for development of highly efficient photocatalysts and beyond by tuning the ferroelectricity and electronic structure.