Cocatalysts on the outside and inside of hollow spheres trigger photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction to syngas

‘Unlike previous ones, our cocatalyst structure is completely separated by a TiO2 shell, enabling electrons and holes generated by TiO2 to flow in opposite directions, which greatly supresses charge carrier recombination,’ Gong tells Chemistry World. Irradiation by solar light causes TiO2­ to generate electron–hole pairs, which separate on the oppositely charged surfaces either side of the hollow spherical shell. ‘Holes are collected by oxidation cocatalysts on the inner surface and are consumed by a sacrificial agent, whereas electrons are enriched by the reduction cocatalysts on the outer surface, which drive the carbon dioxide reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions,’ he continues.

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Carbon dioxide recycling on the ball

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Tunable Syngas Production from Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction with Mitigated Charge Recombination Driven by Spatially Separated Cocatalysts

Chem. Sci., 2018, in press, DOI: 10.1039/C8SC01812J