Synthesis of lead-free Cs3Sb2Br9 perovskite alternative nanocrystals with enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity

Abstract

A synthetic method for uniform and pure Cs₃Sb₂Br₉ NCs has been developed. Cs₃Sb₂Br₉ NCs exhibit a 10-fold increase in activity for the photocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction compared to CsPbBr₃ NCs, achieving 510 μmol CO g⁻¹ cat. after 4 h. Density functional theory shows that Cs₃Sb₂Br₉ surfaces sufficiently expose Sb to allow reactivity, as opposed to the unreactive CsPbBr₃ surface.