Doping Iron in CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanocrystals for Efficient and Product Selective CO2 Reduction.

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals have recently emerged as an efficient optical material for light harvesting. While these have been extensively studied for obtaining bright emissions, their use as catalysts for enhancing the rate of chemical reactions has been explored little. Considering their importance in catalysis, herein, Fe(II)-doped CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals have been explored for photocatalytic reduction of CO2. In comparison to undoped CsPbBr3, doped nanocrystals showed enhanced catalytic activity and also predominantly led to evolution of CH4 instead of CO. The observation of a reverse trend of predominated CH4 evolution in doped nanocrystals rather than CO observed for undoped nanocrystals was correlated to the adsorption/desorption energy of respective products established theoretically earlier. This selective evolution of major products on doping remained unique and also a step forward for understanding more regarding light to chemical energy conversions using perovskite nanocrystals.