Bicomponent Cocatalyst Decoration on Flux-assisted CaTaO 2 N Single Crystals for Photocatalytic CO 2 Reduction under Visible Light.

Cubic-like CaTaO 2 N photocatalysts with high crystallinity and uniform particle size were successfully prepared by the flux-assisted nitridation method. The growth of CaTaO 2 N single crystals under different synthesis conditions was systematically investigated to understand the effects of the crystallinity and optical property on photocatalytic performance of CO 2 reduction. Moreover, the modification of CaTaO 2 N single crystals with core-shell Ni-Ag bicomponent cocatalyst by two-step decoration process gave a 2.4 times higher amount of CO evolution than the deposition of sole Ag cocatalyst, because of the synergistic effects of bicomponent cocatalyst on the interfacial electron transfer and surface catalytic process. This study provides a valuable way to construct high-crystalline photocatalysts with effective bicomponent cocatalyst for visible-light-driven CO 2 reduction with H 2 O.