Ferroelectric polarization and thin-layered structure synergistically promoting CO2 photoreduction of Bi2MoO6

Photocatalytic CO2 reduction for producing solar fuels is promising but severely restricted by the fast recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes and insufficient reactive sites of photocatalysts. Formation of internal electric field is an effective route for facilitating the charge separation, and two-dimensional structure construction is beneficial to increasing catalytic sites. Herein, ultrathin Bi2MoO6 nanosheets with strong ferroelectricity were prepared by a combined CTAB-assisted hydrothermal and corona poling post-treatment process for synergistically improving the CO2 photoreduction activity. Without sacrificial agents and co-catalysts, the polarized Bi2MoO6 ultrathin nanosheets demonstrate a remarkable CO2 reduction activity for CO production with a rate of 14.38 μmol g-1 h-1 in the gas-solid system, over 10 times enhancement than the bulk Bi2MoO6. The combined strategies considerably promote the separation of the photogenerated electrons and holes and enrich the reactive sites for CO2 adsorption, which co-boost the photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance of Bi2MoO6. In addition, a synergistically-enhanced effect between corona poling and thin-layered structure was disclosed. This work provides corona poling as an efficient route for promoting charge separation of particulate photocatalysts, and offers new insights into synergistically improving the CO2 photoreduction activity.