Mesoporous g-C3N4/MXene (Ti3C2Tx) heterojunction as a 2D electronic charge transfer for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Abstract Photocatalytic CO2 reduction reactions (CO2RRs) are of significant interest for its application prospects in energy field and CO2 removal in air. Herein we report mesoporous g-C3N4/Ti3C2Tx (MCT) as a highly active photocatalyst in CO2 reduction reactions. We have found that mesoporous structures are compatible with high speed electronic transmission systems and demonstrate that MCT enables the excellent separation of electrons and holes. Mesoporous g-C3N4/Ti3C2Tx (MCT) shows a production of CH4 (2.117 μ m o l · g - 1 · h - 1 ), which is 2.4 times than that of mesoporous g-C3N4 (MC). Large contact area of the catalyst has numerous adsorption sites for CO2 as a result of the catalysts’ mesoporous structures. The MCT catalyst also possess an efficient separation of the charge carriers due to the high speed electronic transmission system of MXene.