SrTiO(3)@NiFe LDH core–shell composites for photocatalytic CO(2) conversion

A series of core@shell SrTiO(3)@NiFe LDH composites (STONFs) were synthesized and their photocatalytic CO(2) reduction performance was studied. The photocatalyst STONF 2 exhibited enhanced CO(2) reduction performance with CO yield of 7.9 μmol g(−1) h(−1). The yield was 25.7 times and 8.8 times higher than that of NiFe LDH and SrTiO(3) respectively, and also higher than most LDH based photocatalysts. Compared with two individual components, STONFs exhibited their combined merits of widened absorption spectrum, higher transportation efficiency and alleviated recombination of e(−)/h(+) pairs. In addition, there were fewer oxygen vacancies in STONF 2 than as-prepared SrTiO(3). Lower oxygen vacancies concentration would increase the opportunity of direct bonding between interface atoms of two components and successively increase the electron transportation and separation. These factors synergistically contributed to enhanced photocatalytic performance. This work will provide new insight for designing complementary multi-component photocatalysis systems.