Rare earth vanadates are promising for solar-to-fuel conversions, yet their photocatalytic efficiency is limited by the substantial recombination of photo-generated carriers. Constructing heterojunctions is recognized as an effective approach to improving charge carrier separation in vanadates. Nonetheless, inefficient charge transfer often results from the poor quality of interfaces and non-directional charge transfer within these heterojunctions. Herein, an S-scheme AgInS₂/CeVO₄@Biochar_x (AIS/CV@C_x) heterojunction photocatalyst is designed and synthesized through a straightforward freeze-drying and calcination three-step process, aimed at photocatalytic co-production of xylonic acid and carbon monoxide (CO) from xylose. The AIS/CV@C₂ heterojunction achieves an optimal yield of 67.74% for xylonic acid and a CO release of 29.76 µmol from xylose. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of the AIS/CV@C₂ heterojunction is attributed to three key factors: I) the high-quality interface and intimate contact within the AIS/CV@C₂ heterojunction significantly reduce undesirable carriers recombination, II) the staggered band structures and directed carriers transfer in the AIS/CV@C₂ heterojunction notably improve spatial carriers separation/migration, and III) the incorporation of biochar boosts the conductivity of the AIS/CV@C₂ heterojunction. This work presents a straightforward yet effective method for fabricating vanadate heterojunctions, highlighting the importance of quality interfacial contact and directed charge transfer in amplifying photocatalytic performance.

中文翻译：

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增强太阳能到燃料转化的光催化活性：S 型 AgInS2/CeVO4@Biocharx 异质结的研究


稀土钒酸盐有望用于太阳能到燃料的转化，但其光催化效率受到光生载流子大量重组的限制。构建异质结被认为是改善钒酸盐载流子分离的有效方法。尽管如此，低效的电荷转移通常是由于这些异质结内的界面质量差和非定向电荷转移造成的。本文设计了S型AgInS ₂ /CeVO ₄ @Biochar _x (AIS/CV@C _x )异质结光催化剂通过简单的冷冻干燥和煅烧三步工艺合成，旨在从木糖中光催化联产木糖酸和一氧化碳（CO）。 AIS/CV@C ₂ 异质结实现了木糖酸 67.74% 的最佳收率以及木糖释放的 CO 29.76 µmol。 AIS/CV@C ₂ 异质结增强的光催化性能归因于三个关键因素：I) AIS/CV@C ₂ 内的高质量界面和紧密接触异质结显着减少了不需要的载流子复合，II）AIS/CV@C ₂ 异质结中的交错能带结构和定向载流子转移显着改善了空间载流子分离/迁移，以及III）生物炭的掺入提高了电导率AIS/CV@C ₂ 异质结。这项工作提出了一种简单而有效的制造钒酸盐异质结的方法，强调了高质量界面接触和定向电荷转移在放大光催化性能方面的重要性。