Near-Infrared-Responsive Photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> Conversion via <i>In Situ</i> Generated Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/Cu<sub>2</sub>O.

Bai, Shengjie; Jing, Wenhao; He, Guiwei; Liao, Chen; Wang, Feng; Liu, Ya; Guo, Liejin · ACS Nano · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> conversion to fuels is a promising strategy for achieving global carbon neutrality. However, infrared light, which accounts for ∼50% of the full sunlight spectrum, has not yet been effectively utilized via photocatalysis. Here, we present an approach to directly power photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction using near-infrared light. This near-infrared light-responsive process occurs on an <i>in situ</i> generated Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/Cu<sub>2</sub>O photocatalyst with a nanobranch structure. Photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy and relative photocatalytic measurements demonstrate the increase of surface photovoltage after illumination by near-infrared light. We also find that Cu(I) on this <i>in situ</i> generated Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/Cu<sub>2</sub>O could facilitate the formation of a *CHO intermediate, thus enabling a high-performance CH<sub>4</sub> production with a yield of 6.5 μmol/h and a selectivity of 99%. Moreover, we perform a practically oriented direct solar-driven photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction under concentrated sunlight and achieve a fuel yield of 12.5 μmol/h.