Boosting charge separation and photocatalytic CO2 reduction of CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots by hybridizing with P3HT.

[Display omitted] • An efficient and stable P3HT/CsPbBr 3 composite photocatalyst was fabricated. • There is strong interaction between P3HT and CsPbBr 3. • Boosted charge separation was achieved by coupling CsPbBr 3 with P3HT. • The P3HT/CsPbBr 3 composite exhibits high photocatalytic activity in CO 2 reduction. The suitable band structure and exceptional light harvesting abilities render lead halide perovskite (LHP) nanocrystals promising alternative for photocatalytic CO 2 reduction. However, pristine LHPs usually exhibit unsatisfactory photocatalytic activity in CO 2 reduction due to the high radiative recombination, low charge separation, and insufficient stability. To overcome these obstacles, herein, a poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT)/CsPbBr 3 composite was fabricated by encapsulating the CsPbBr 3 quantum dots (QDs) into a P3HT conducting polymer, which could act as a protective layer as well as a hole transporter. Owing to the efficient charge transfer brought by the synergic effect between the two components, the P3HT/CsPbBr 3 composite exhibited outstanding photocatalytic performance in CO 2 reduction, with an electron consumption rate high up to 475.3 μmol g−1 h−1, which was approximately 10-times higher than that of pristine CsPbBr 3 QDs. Our study provides new insight into the design and fabrication of conducting polymers/LHP heterogeneous photocatalysts, which show great potentials in artificial photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]