Fullerene modified CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals for efficient charge separation and photocatalytic CO2 reduction

[Display omitted] •A novel C60/CsPbBr3 composite was fabricated by an in-situ self-assembly process.•The highly conjugated C60 serves as electron acceptors in the C60/CsPbBr3 composite.•The C60/CsPbBr3 composite exhibits high charge separation efficiency and stability.•The C60/CsPbBr3 composite shows enhanced activity in photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are regarded as potential candidates for photocatalytic CO2 reduction owing to their appropriate band structure and outstanding visible-light harvesting abilities. Nevertheless, the intrinsic radiative recombination and the structural instability of these materials have always been the obstacles to their practical applications in CO2 photoreduction. Herein, we demonstrate the design and fabrication of a fullerenes C60/CsPbBr3 composite, which is applied as an efficient and stable photocatalyst for visible-light-driven CO2 reduction. C60 with highly delocalized π bond structure serves as electron acceptors to acquire photo-generated electrons from CsPbBr3, thus facilitating the charge separation in this composite photocatalytic system. Consequently, largely improved CO2 photoreduction activity is achieved for the C60/CsPbBr3 catalytic system, with an average electron consumption rate 1.9 times that of the pristine counterpart. Our work has provided an effective strategy for the construction of halide perovskite-based composite systems with enhanced photocatalytic performance, which have potential applications in artificial photosynthesis.