Growth of MoSe₂ Nanosheets Around ZnO-SnO₂-ZnSnO₃ Hollow Nanofibers (h-ZTO) for Effective CO₂ Photoreduction

Hazina Charles, Rajendra C. Pawar, Haritham Khan, Jin-Goo Park, Caroline Sunyong Lee*<br/>Department of Materials and Chemical Engineering,<br/>Hanyang University, Ansan, Republic of Korea<br/><br/>Solar-driven semiconductor photocatalysts, especially photocatalysts with multi-heterojunctions, have gained a lot of interest as a potential solution to the world energy crisis and environmental pollution. In this study, simple electrospinning followed by solvothermal technique were used to synthesize h-ZTO/MoSe₂ hybrid photocatalysts with multiple heterojunctions. Hybrid photocatalysts were fabricated by adjusting the h-ZTO/MoSe₂ ratio, which demonstrated outstanding photocatalytic activity than that of pure h-ZTO, due to its double growth of MoSe₂ nanosheets on h-ZTO hollow nanofibers. To understand morphology, microstructure, phase composition, and functional characteristics of the synthesized photocatalysts, different techniques were employed including FE-SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, PL, TR-PL, and PEC. Optimal h-ZTO/MoSe₂ hybrid photocatalyst exhibited efficient photocatalytic transformation of CO₂ into CO, H_2, and CH₄, with yielding rates of 140, 64, and 33 µmolg^-1h^-1, respectively. Moreover, the optimal hybrid photocatalyst showed the highest CO₂ photoreduction selectivity of 93%. This remarkable activity could be driven by the homogeneous growth of MoSe₂ in/on the hollow nanofibers walls, which improved their capacity for light scattering and offered a significant number of active sites to activate and desorb CO₂ throughout the reaction. This study indicated that hollow nanofibers well coated with MoSe2 nanosheets can provide bright insights on how to design a catalyst with high product selectivity.<br/><b>Keywords</b>: Hybrid photocatalyst, hollow (h-ZTO) nanofiber, MoSe_2,CO₂photoreduction, Multiple heterojunctions.<br/><b>Corresponding Author:</b> [email protected]