Molecular confined synthesis of magnetic CoO_(x)/Co/C hybrid catalyst for photocatalytic water oxidation and CO_(2)reduction

Photosynthesis[6CO_(2)+12H_(2)O→(CH_(2)O)+6O_(2)+6H_(2)O]in nature contains a light reaction process for oxygen evolution and a dark reaction process for carbon dioxide(CO_(2))reduction to carbohydrates,which is of great significance for the survival of living matter.Therefore,for simulating photosynthesis,it is desirable to design and fabricate a bifunctional catalyst for promoting photocatalytic water oxidation and CO_(2)reduction performances.Herein,a molecular confined synthesis strategy is reasonably proposed and applied,that is the bifunctional CoO_(x)/Co/C-T(T=700,800 and 900℃)photocatalysts prepared by the pyrolysis of molecular Co-EDTA under N_(2) and air atmosphere in turn.Among the prepared photocatalysts,the CoOx/Co/C-800 shows the best photocatalytic water oxidation activity with an oxygen yield of 51.2%.In addition,for CO_(2)reduction reaction,the CO evolution rate of 12.6μmol/h and selectivity of 75%can be achieved over this catalyst.The improved photocatalytic activities are attributed to the rapid electron transfer between the photosensitizer and the catalyst,which is strongly supported by the current densityvoltage G-V,steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectra(PL).Overall,this work provides a reference for the preparation and optimization of photocatalysts with the capacity for water oxidation and CO_(2)reduction reactions.