Improving CO<sub>2</sub> photoconversion with ionic liquid and Co single atoms.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36928357.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-36980-5 and PMC identifier 10020152.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> conversion promises an ideal route to store solar energy into chemical bonds. However, sluggish electron kinetics and unfavorable product selectivity remain unresolved challenges. Here, an ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, and borate-anchored Co single atoms were separately loaded on ultrathin g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> nanosheets. The optimized nanocomposite photocatalyst produces CO and CH<sub>4</sub> from CO<sub>2</sub> and water under UV-vis light irradiation, exhibiting a 42-fold photoactivity enhancement compared with g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> and nearly 100% selectivity towards CO<sub>2</sub> reduction. Experimental and theoretical results reveal that the ionic liquid extracts electrons and facilitates CO<sub>2</sub> reduction, whereas Co single atoms trap holes and catalyze water oxidation. More importantly, the maximum electron transfer efficiency for CO<sub>2</sub> photoreduction, as measured with in-situ μs-transient absorption spectroscopy, is found to be 35.3%, owing to the combined effect of the ionic liquid and Co single atoms. This work offers a feasible strategy for efficiently converting CO<sub>2</sub> to valuable chemicals.