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.