Harnessing abundant solar energy for sustainable fuel production offers one of the most encouraging strategies to mitigate CO2 emissions. The discovery of novel and efficient photocatalysts to enhance photocatalytic CO2 reduction is important for converting solar energy to fuel. Porphyrin-functionalized UiO-66 on a BiVO4 semiconductor is introduced to convert CO2 via photoreactions. Here, the solar-driven production of carbonaceous feedstocks is reported using a novel photocatalytic material S-scheme UiO-66-TCPP-BiVO4 heterojunction coupled with the photosystem II (PSII) in a microalgae. Coupling PSII with synthetic catalysts improves the efficiency of light-harvesting and the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, transient photocurrent response, photoluminescence lifetime, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electron spin resonance measurements are conducted to determine the complex structural and electronic properties and the photocatalytic performance. In situ Fourier-transform infrared spectra provide the CO2RR processes, revealing the mechanism by detailing intermediate formation and energy pathways.
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