Engineering Heteronuclear Dual‐Metal Active Sites in Ordered Macroporous Architectures for Enhanced C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub> Production from CO<sub>2</sub> Photoreduction

Abstract Photocatalytic C 2 H 4 synthesis from CO 2 and H 2 O by utilizing solar energy represents a promising sustainable process, yet its efficiency remains significantly limited. Herein, we proposed a dual‐engineered strategy integrating 3D ordered macroporous (3DOM) architectures with heteronuclear dual‐metal active sites to synergistically promote the photocatalytic C 2 H 4 production. As an example, the Cu/3DOM‐In 2 O 3 photocatalyst was synthesized by in situ incorporating Cu single atoms (Cu SAs) into 3DOM In 2 O 3 through a template‐assisted pyrolysis process. The strong interaction between Cu SAs and In 2 O 3 resulted in the formation of charge‐polarized Cu─In active sites along with abundant oxygen vacancies (O V s). 3DOM architectures serving as special nanoreactors displayed significant advantages in promoting CO 2 enrichment and confining key intermediates, thereby increasing *CO coverage. Meanwhile, the charge‐polarized Cu─In active sites effectively mitigated electrostatic repulsion and promoted the formation of *CO + *CHO intermediates, resulting in a thermodynamically spontaneous C─C coupling step. Therefore, the Cu/3DOM‐In 2 O 3 photocatalyst exhibited robust CO 2 reduction to C 2 H 4 , achieving high C 2 H 4 evolution rates under various CO 2 concentrations, including pure CO 2 , 10% CO 2 in Ar (simulated flue gas), and 0.04% CO 2 in Ar (simulated air). This work offers a novel strategy for the construction of photocatalysts with tailored microstructures and specific active sites to promote the conversion of CO 2 and H 2 O into multicarbon products.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2025-03-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202506072
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Catalytic Processes in Materials Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.55
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article

Engineering Heteronuclear Dual‐Metal Active Sites in Ordered Macroporous Architectures for Enhanced C2H4 Production from CO2 Photoreduction

Qianyu Zhang, Shihao Wei, Shoujie Liu, Mao Xu et al.
3 citations
Angewandte Chemie
Catalytic Processes in Materials Science
1.55
article

Engineering Heteronuclear Dual‐Metal Active Sites in Ordered Macroporous Architectures for Enhanced C2H4 Production from CO2 Photoreduction

Qianyu Zhang, Shihao Wei, Shoujie Liu, Mao Xu, Benxia Li, Yi Xie, Min Zhou, Yanying Zhao
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Abstract Photocatalytic C 2 H 4 synthesis from CO 2 and H 2 O by utilizing solar energy represents a promising sustainable process, yet its efficiency remains significantly limited. Herein, we proposed a dual‐engineered strategy integrating 3D ordered macroporous (3DOM) architectures with heteronuclear dual‐metal active sites to synergistically promote the photocatalytic C 2 H 4 production. As an example, the Cu/3DOM‐In 2 O 3 photocatalyst was synthesized by in situ incorporating Cu single atoms (Cu SAs) into 3DOM In 2 O 3 through a template‐assisted pyrolysis process. The strong interaction between Cu SAs and In 2 O 3 resulted in the formation of charge‐polarized Cu─In active sites along with abundant oxygen vacancies (O V s). 3DOM architectures serving as special nanoreactors displayed significant advantages in promoting CO 2 enrichment and confining key intermediates, thereby increasing *CO coverage. Meanwhile, the charge‐polarized Cu─In active sites effectively mitigated electrostatic repulsion and promoted the formation of *CO + *CHO intermediates, resulting in a thermodynamically spontaneous C─C coupling step. Therefore, the Cu/3DOM‐In 2 O 3 photocatalyst exhibited robust CO 2 reduction to C 2 H 4 , achieving high C 2 H 4 evolution rates under various CO 2 concentrations, including pure CO 2 , 10% CO 2 in Ar (simulated flue gas), and 0.04% CO 2 in Ar (simulated air). This work offers a novel strategy for the construction of photocatalysts with tailored microstructures and specific active sites to promote the conversion of CO 2 and H 2 O into multicarbon products.

Angewandte ChemieVol. 137(23)
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (CN), Anhui University (CN), Hefei National Center for Physical Sciences at Nanoscale (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
Catalytic Processes in Materials Science
1.55
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