A visible light-response flower-like La-doped BiOBr nanosheets with enhanced performance for photoreducing CO2 to CH3OH

Abstract In the context of global warming and energy shortages, using photocatalysis technology to reduce the concentration of CO2 and convert it into C1 fuel has been extensively studied. However, the application of this technology is inevitably hindered by low energy conversion efficiency, low selectivity, and the use of sacrificial agents. In this work, we developed a novel flower-like La doped BiOBr nanosheets, and as-prepared catalyst exhibited excellent photocatalytic CO2 conversion of 22.77 μmol g-1 h-1 and CH3OH selectivity of 92.41%. The influence of doped La and catalytic mechanism were further investigated, and the results revealed that the introduction of La species extended the photoresponse range of BiOBr photocatalyst and reduced the photoelectron-hole recombination rate, thus improving the photoactivity of pure BiOBr. This work brings a guidance for designing new high performance photocatalysts in future.