Silver nanoparticles as electron mediators in a Z-scheme g-C3N4/rhenium complex photocatalyst for CO2-to-CO reduction
- 1Institute of Advanced Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) Ho Chi Minh City 70000 Vietnam
- 2Institute of Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology Hanoi 100000 Vietnam
Abstract
A hybrid photocatalyst g-C3N4/Ag/Re, comprising silver nanoparticle (AgNP) modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4/Ag) nanosheets and [Re(CO)3(2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-dicarbonyl acid)Cl], was successfully constructed. Compared with g-C3N4/Re, g-C3N4/Ag/Re exhibits enhanced photocatalytic CO2-to-CO conversion under visible-light irradiation, demonstrating that AgNPs improve the interfacial interaction between g-C3N4 and the Re complex. The turnover number (TON) for CO of g-C3N4/Ag/Re reaches 70.60 at 150 min, representing 7.60- and 1.31-fold increases compared with the Re complex and g-C3N4/Re, respectively. The CO selectivity of g-C3N4/Ag/Re and g-C3N4/Re is determined to be 94.5% and 94.8%, respectively. These results indicate that AgNP modification enhances the visible-light absorption of g-C3N4, promotes charge separation, and facilitates interfacial electron transfer from g-C3N4 to the Re complex. The photocatalytic mechanism of g-C3N4/Ag/Re is proposed to follow a Z-scheme-like charge-transfer pathway, in which g-C3N4 acts as the light-harvesting component, the Re complex serves as a CO2 reduction site, and AgNPs function as electron mediators. This study provides a promising strategy for developing highly efficient photocatalysts for CO2 reduction.
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BibTeX
@article{nguyen2026silver,
title = {{Silver nanoparticles as electron mediators in a Z-scheme g-C3N4/rhenium complex photocatalyst for CO2-to-CO reduction}},
author = {Phuong N. Nguyen and Linh Chi Nguyen and Long V. Le and Chinh Hoang Tran and Tuan M. Nguyen},
journal = {Nanoscale Advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6na00399k},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1039/d6na00399k},
note = {CC BY-NC 3.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Silver nanoparticles as electron mediators in a Z-scheme g-C3N4/rhenium complex photocatalyst for CO2-to-CO reduction
AU - Phuong N. Nguyen
AU - Linh Chi Nguyen
AU - Long V. Le
AU - Chinh Hoang Tran
AU - Tuan M. Nguyen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nanoscale Advances
DO - 10.1039/d6na00399k
UR - https://doi.org/10.1039/d6na00399k
AB - A hybrid photocatalyst g-C3N4/Ag/Re, comprising silver nanoparticle (AgNP) modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4/Ag) nanosheets and [Re(CO)3(2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-dicarbonyl acid)Cl], was successfully constructed. Compared with g-C3N4/Re, g-C3N4/Ag/Re exhibits enhanced photocatalytic CO2-to-CO conversion under visible-light irradiation, demonstrating that AgNPs improve the interfacial interaction between g-C3N4 and the Re complex. The turnover number (TON) for CO of g-C3N4/Ag/Re reaches 70.60 at 150 min, representing 7.60- and 1.31-fold increases compared with the Re complex and g-C3N4/Re, respectively. The CO selectivity of g-C3N4/Ag/Re and g-C3N4/Re is determined to be 94.5% and 94.8%, respectively. These results indicate that AgNP modification enhances the visible-light absorption of g-C3N4, promotes charge separation, and facilitates interfacial electron transfer from g-C3N4 to the Re complex. The photocatalytic mechanism of g-C3N4/Ag/Re is proposed to follow a Z-scheme-like charge-transfer pathway, in which g-C3N4 acts as the light-harvesting component, the Re complex serves as a CO2 reduction site, and AgNPs function as electron mediators. This study provides a promising strategy for developing highly efficient photocatalysts for CO2 reduction.
SN - 2516-0230
ER -