Nano-on-Micro BiOCl0.6Br0.4/Zn3In2S6 Heterostructure with Prolonged Charge Separation and Exposed Bi Active Sites for Efficient CO2 Photoreduction

Malik Zeeshan Shahid; Xinlei Zhang; Qiwen Su; Minghua Xu; Xiaowen Ruan; Wei Zhang; Jing Leng; Lei Zhang; Xiaoqiang Cui

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c05569

Nano-on-Micro BiOCl_0.6Br_0.4/Zn₃In₂S₆ Heterostructure with Prolonged Charge Separation and Exposed Bi Active Sites for Efficient CO₂ Photoreduction

Malik Zeeshan Shahid (Co-first Author), Xinlei Zhang (Co-first Author), Qiwen Su (Co-first Author), Minghua Xu, Xiaowen Ruan, Wei Zhang, Jing Leng, Lei Zhang^*, Xiaoqiang Cui^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Energy and Environment

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

The inefficient dynamics of photogenerated charge carriers and the limited accessibility of active sites remain concurrent challenges for achieving efficient solar-driven CO₂ photoreduction. Herein, a distinct nano-on-micro (NOM) BiOCl_0.6Br_0.4/Zn₃In₂S₆ heterostructure (NOM-BZ) is rationally constructed by precisely anchoring nano-BiOCl0.6Br0.4 onto micro-Zn₃In₂S₆ via an in situ seed-growth route. This architecture simultaneously optimizes charge kinetics and surface redox sites, thereby significantly enhancing the CO₂-to-CO conversion performance. In particular, NOM-BZ exhibits a prolonged average charge lifetime of 3102 ps (5-fold higher than pristine) and abundant electron-rich Bi active sites, especially Bi^(3-x)+ species, which efficiently drive CO₂ reduction. In addition, NOM-BZ facilitates CO₂ adsorption and activation and promotes *COOH intermediate formation by lowering the energy barriers, leading to noteworthy activity and long-term stability. This work highlights a robust NOM-engineered heterostructure capable of concurrently modulating charge dynamics and active-site chemistry, offering a promising paradigm for the rational design of next-generation photocatalysts for CO₂ conversion. © 2026 American Chemical Society

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1051-1058
Journal	Nano Letters
Volume	26
Issue number	3
Online published	16 Jan 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c05569
Publication status	Published - 28 Jan 2026

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22279044), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2024YFA1207700), the Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Program (20260205061GH), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, JLU.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

Research Keywords

Charge carrier dynamics
CO2 photoreduction
Heterostructure
Interface
Redox sites

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10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c05569

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Cite this

@article{a6c7e825e1b54dd3b3b40f3a4747fb4f,

title = "Nano-on-Micro BiOCl0.6Br0.4/Zn3In2S6 Heterostructure with Prolonged Charge Separation and Exposed Bi Active Sites for Efficient CO2 Photoreduction",

abstract = "The inefficient dynamics of photogenerated charge carriers and the limited accessibility of active sites remain concurrent challenges for achieving efficient solar-driven CO2 photoreduction. Herein, a distinct nano-on-micro (NOM) BiOCl0.6Br0.4/Zn3In2S6 heterostructure (NOM-BZ) is rationally constructed by precisely anchoring nano-BiOCl0.6Br0.4 onto micro-Zn3In2S6 via an in situ seed-growth route. This architecture simultaneously optimizes charge kinetics and surface redox sites, thereby significantly enhancing the CO2-to-CO conversion performance. In particular, NOM-BZ exhibits a prolonged average charge lifetime of 3102 ps (5-fold higher than pristine) and abundant electron-rich Bi active sites, especially Bi(3-x)+ species, which efficiently drive CO2 reduction. In addition, NOM-BZ facilitates CO2 adsorption and activation and promotes *COOH intermediate formation by lowering the energy barriers, leading to noteworthy activity and long-term stability. This work highlights a robust NOM-engineered heterostructure capable of concurrently modulating charge dynamics and active-site chemistry, offering a promising paradigm for the rational design of next-generation photocatalysts for CO2 conversion. {\textcopyright} 2026 American Chemical Society",

keywords = "Charge carrier dynamics, CO2 photoreduction, Heterostructure, Interface, Redox sites",

author = "Shahid, {Malik Zeeshan} and Xinlei Zhang and Qiwen Su and Minghua Xu and Xiaowen Ruan and Wei Zhang and Jing Leng and Lei Zhang and Xiaoqiang Cui",

year = "2026",

month = jan,

day = "28",

doi = "10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c05569",

language = "English",

volume = "26",

pages = "1051--1058",

journal = "Nano Letters",

issn = "1530-6992",

publisher = "American Chemical Society",

number = "3",

}

Nano-on-Micro BiOCl_0.6Br_0.4/Zn₃In₂S₆ Heterostructure with Prolonged Charge Separation and Exposed Bi Active Sites for Efficient CO₂ Photoreduction. / Shahid, Malik Zeeshan (Co-first Author); Zhang, Xinlei (Co-first Author); Su, Qiwen (Co-first Author) et al.
In: Nano Letters, Vol. 26, No. 3, 28.01.2026, p. 1051-1058.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Nano-on-Micro BiOCl0.6Br0.4/Zn3In2S6 Heterostructure with Prolonged Charge Separation and Exposed Bi Active Sites for Efficient CO2 Photoreduction

AU - Shahid, Malik Zeeshan

AU - Zhang, Xinlei

AU - Su, Qiwen

AU - Xu, Minghua

AU - Ruan, Xiaowen

AU - Zhang, Wei

AU - Leng, Jing

AU - Zhang, Lei

AU - Cui, Xiaoqiang

PY - 2026/1/28

Y1 - 2026/1/28

N2 - The inefficient dynamics of photogenerated charge carriers and the limited accessibility of active sites remain concurrent challenges for achieving efficient solar-driven CO2 photoreduction. Herein, a distinct nano-on-micro (NOM) BiOCl0.6Br0.4/Zn3In2S6 heterostructure (NOM-BZ) is rationally constructed by precisely anchoring nano-BiOCl0.6Br0.4 onto micro-Zn3In2S6 via an in situ seed-growth route. This architecture simultaneously optimizes charge kinetics and surface redox sites, thereby significantly enhancing the CO2-to-CO conversion performance. In particular, NOM-BZ exhibits a prolonged average charge lifetime of 3102 ps (5-fold higher than pristine) and abundant electron-rich Bi active sites, especially Bi(3-x)+ species, which efficiently drive CO2 reduction. In addition, NOM-BZ facilitates CO2 adsorption and activation and promotes *COOH intermediate formation by lowering the energy barriers, leading to noteworthy activity and long-term stability. This work highlights a robust NOM-engineered heterostructure capable of concurrently modulating charge dynamics and active-site chemistry, offering a promising paradigm for the rational design of next-generation photocatalysts for CO2 conversion. © 2026 American Chemical Society

AB - The inefficient dynamics of photogenerated charge carriers and the limited accessibility of active sites remain concurrent challenges for achieving efficient solar-driven CO2 photoreduction. Herein, a distinct nano-on-micro (NOM) BiOCl0.6Br0.4/Zn3In2S6 heterostructure (NOM-BZ) is rationally constructed by precisely anchoring nano-BiOCl0.6Br0.4 onto micro-Zn3In2S6 via an in situ seed-growth route. This architecture simultaneously optimizes charge kinetics and surface redox sites, thereby significantly enhancing the CO2-to-CO conversion performance. In particular, NOM-BZ exhibits a prolonged average charge lifetime of 3102 ps (5-fold higher than pristine) and abundant electron-rich Bi active sites, especially Bi(3-x)+ species, which efficiently drive CO2 reduction. In addition, NOM-BZ facilitates CO2 adsorption and activation and promotes *COOH intermediate formation by lowering the energy barriers, leading to noteworthy activity and long-term stability. This work highlights a robust NOM-engineered heterostructure capable of concurrently modulating charge dynamics and active-site chemistry, offering a promising paradigm for the rational design of next-generation photocatalysts for CO2 conversion. © 2026 American Chemical Society

KW - Charge carrier dynamics

KW - CO2 photoreduction

KW - Heterostructure

KW - Interface

KW - Redox sites

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U2 - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c05569

DO - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c05569

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 41543842

SN - 1530-6992

VL - 26

SP - 1051

EP - 1058

JO - Nano Letters

JF - Nano Letters

IS - 3

ER -