Small Conjugated Organic Ligand-Modified Polyoxometalate-Based Hybrid Materials for Boosting Photocatalytic CO 2 Reduction

Photocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) reduction to value-added chemicals is a multielectron transfer process, and the crucial step is the synthesis of photocatalysts. The introduction of small conjugated organic ligands can make the catalytic active site of the compound easier to be exposed in the reaction system and fully contact with the substrate, accelerating the photocatalytic reaction process. In this paper, we synthesized two isomorphic compounds, namely, {[Co(mtrz) 3 ·(H 2 O) 2 ] 2 ·[SiW 12 O 40 ]}·6H 2 O ( 1 ) and {[Ni(mtrz) 3 ·(H 2 O) 2 ] 2 ·[SiW 12 O 40 ]}·6H 2 O ( 2 ) (mtrz = 1-methyl-1,2,4-triazole). We found that compound 1 has a great photocatalytic performance through a series of experiments, with a CO reduction yield of 7364.92 μmol g –1 h –1 and a CO selectivity of 82.5%. Furthermore, the high catalytic activity can be maintained over four cycle experiments. The catalytic mechanism of its photocatalytic system is also elucidated, which provides an idea for realizing efficient catalytic reduction of CO 2 to CO.