One-step solid-state-chemistry synthesized layered bismuth oxyiodide crystal for efficient solar-driven CO2 photoreduction

We develop a facile one-step solid-state-chemistry strategy for synthesizing BiOI crystals with layered microstructure. The BiOI photocatalyst shows typical mesoporous feature with available surface area, considerable wide-spectrum light absorption and carriers lifetime properties, and remarkable solar to thermal effect for efficient solar-driven photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CH4. The engineered BiOI displays a superior CH4 formation performance with the space-time yield of 13.1 μmol g−1 h−1 and the selectivity of 82.3% as well as excellent photostability for CO2 photoreduction under solar light irradiation. Furthermore, the versatile BiOI can boost the photo-stimulated efficiency on clean H2 generation and pollutant degradation.