Ag-Bi/BiVO4 chain-like hollow microstructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity for CO2 conversion

Developing semiconductor-based photocatalysts with high activity and stability to reduce CO2 into valuable solar fuels is of great significance because of the increasingly serious energy crisis and global warming. Here, metallic Ag and Bi nanoparticles co-decorated BiVO4 (Ag-Bi/BiVO4) chain-like hollow microstructures were prepared via construction of Bi/BiVO4 hollow microstructures followed by coupling with Ag through a galvanic replacement reaction between Bi and AgNO3. The characterization results demonstrated that as-fabricated AgBi/BiVO4 composites possess unique features such as extended visible-light response, rich oxygen vacancies (OVs), elevated conduction band, and high separation efficiency of photoexcited electron-hole pairs, which endow the Ag-Bi/BiVO4 composites with a surprising photocatalytic performance toward CO2 conversion to CO under visible light irradiation. The present work develops a feasible and effective strategy for developing BiVO4-based photocatalysts with suitable electronic band structure to improve the efficiency of CO2 conversion under the irradiation of visible-light.