Two-Dimensional Layered Zinc Silicate Nanosheets with Excellent Photocatalytic Performance for Organic Pollutant Degradation and CO2 Conversion.

Two-dimensional (2D) photocatalysts are highly attractive for their great potential in environmental remediation and energy conversion. Herein, we report a novel layered zinc silicate (LZS) photocatalyst synthesized by a liquid-phase epitaxial growth route using silica derived from vermiculite, a layered silicate clay mineral, as both the lattice-matched substrate and Si source. The epitaxial growth of LZS is limited in the 2D directions, thus generating the vermiculite-type crystal structure and ultrathin nanosheet morphology with thicknesses of 8-15 nm and a lateral size of about 200 nm. Experimental observations and DFT calculations indicated that LZS has a superior band alignment for the degradation of organic pollutants and reduction of CO2 to CO. The material exhibited efficient photocatalytic performance for 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) degradation and CO2 conversion into CO and is the first example of a claylike 2D photocatalyst with strong photooxidation and photoreduction capabilities.