Lanthanide–Titanium Oxo Cluster and BiVO4 Z-Scheme Photocatalyst Sheets for Carbon Dioxide Reduction

Solar-driven CO2 reduction presents a promising approach to achieving carbon neutrality by closing the anthropogenic carbon cycle. However, the development of efficient and stable CO2 photoconversion systems without sacrificial reagents remains a challenge. Herein, we introduce a scalable Z-scheme photocatalyst sheet composed of lanthanide–titanium oxo cluster Eu2Ti4(μ2-O)2(μ3-O)4((CH3)3CCOO)10(THF)2 (referred to as Eu2Ti4) and BiVO4 for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. The photocatalyst sheet, incorporating a gold mediator layer (BiVO4|Au|Eu2Ti4), demonstrated a high average electron conversion and hole consumption rate of 1.96 μmol h–1 cm–1, along with a CO production rate of 0.38 μmol h–1 cm–2, a CH4 production rate of 0.11 μmol h–1 cm–2, and simultaneous O2 generation. The solar-to-fuel (STF) conversion efficiency of the system reaches 0.052%. Notably, the photocatalytic sheet enables overall photocatalytic CO2 reduction using water as the electron donor. Our findings offer a scalable approach for CO2 reduction using solar energy.