CdS/ZnO: A Multi-pronged Approach for Efficient Reduction of Carbon Dioxide under Visible Light Irradiation

Photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to fuels is a sustainable approach to obtain clean energy from CO2 using solar energy. This work focuses on a multipronged approach for efficient photoreduction of CO2 by designing a CdS/ZnO heterojunction photocatalyst. It is found that the combination of CdS and ZnO leads to about 11 times higher activity (383 K) for the reduction of CO2 to fuels than that over CdS under the irradiation of visible light. This is ascribed to the well-matched structural and intrinsic properties of the CdS/ZnO heterojunction, in which generation of electrons and holes by CdS-captured photons, separation and migration of electrons to ZnO by the heterojunction, and efficient adsorption/activation of CO2 on ZnO all work in a concert and harmonious way. This work highlights the potential of improving the performance of CO2 photocatalytic reduction based on a multipronged approach.