Constructing Ordered Three-Dimensional TiO2 Channels for Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Performance in CO2 Conversion Induced by Au Nanoparticles

As a typical photocatalyst for CO2 reduction, practical applications of TiO2 still suffer from low photocatalytic efficiency and limited visible-light absorption. Herein, a novel Au-nanoparticle (NP)-decorated ordered mesoporous TiO2 (OMT) composite (OMT-Au) was successfully fabricated, in which Au NPs were uniformly dispersed on the OMT. Due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect derived from the excited Au NPs, the TiO2 shows high photocatalytic performance for CO2 reduction under visible light. The ordered mesoporous TiO2 exhibits superior material and structure, with a high surface area that offers more catalytically active sites. More importantly, the three-dimensional transport channels ensure the smooth flow of gas molecules, highly efficient CO2 adsorption, and the fast and steady transmission of hot electrons excited from the Au NPs, which lead to a further improvement in the photocatalytic performance. These results highlight the possibility of improving the photocatalysis for CO2 reduction under visible light by constructing OMT-based Au-SPR-induced photocatalysts.