Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to CO over Quinacridone/BiVO4 Nanocomposites.

Solar energy-driven photoreduction of CO2 to energy-rich chemicals is of significance for sustainable development but challenging. Herein, quinacridone (QA)/nBiVO4 (n=0.2-20, in which n stands for the mass ratio of BiVO4 to QA) nanocomposites were developed for photoreduction of CO2 . Characterization of the materials with Fourier-transform (FT)IR spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) pointed to QA/nBiVO4 preparation via hydrogen-bonding-directed self-assembly of QA on BiVO4 nanosheets. Using triethanolamine (TEOA) as a sacrifice reagent, QA/10BiVO4 showed the best performance, affording CO with a production rate of 407 μmol g-1  h-1 , 24 times higher than those of pure QA. It was indicated that the Z-scheme charge-transfer mechanism of QA/nBiVO4 could significantly improve the separation and transmission efficiency of photo-generated electrons and holes. This novel approach provides new insight for fabricating the composite photocatalytic materials of small molecule organic semiconductors and inorganic semiconductors with high efficiency for photocatalytic of reduction CO2 .