Ethanol Synthesis by CO <sub>2</sub> Photoreduction Catalyzed by Self‐Optimized Ti <sup>δ+</sup> ‐Based Heterojunction

Photoreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> to ethanol (C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH) is a promising carbon-neutral technology for renewable energy. Nevertheless, low efficiency of multielectron utilization and high C─C coupling energy barrier cause poor performance in C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH production. Here, we report a TiO<sub>2-x</sub>/BNF (boron nitride flower) S-scheme heterojunction microreactor to steer the asymmetric Ti active sites configuration and redox potential, thereby enhancing the thermodynamic and kinetic formation of C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH. The S-scheme TiO<sub>2-x</sub>/BNF heterostructure provides spatially separated sites for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction and water oxidation with efficient charge carrier utilization. The flower-like structure of BNF improves the local concentration of *CO within microreactors originated from confinement effect to satisfy the coupling process. Self-generated oxygen vacancy in TiO<sub>2-x</sub> brought by BNF leads to different electron densities of adjacent Ti sites, which strengthens the adsorption of *CO and reduces the *CO-CHO formation energy. C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH dehydration is often difficult within the hydrophilic TiO<sub>2-x</sub>/BNF microreactor, thus it tends to produce C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH rather than C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>. Through the synergizing effects, the well-constructed microreactor delivers an excellent C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH production rate of 51.4 µmol g<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> with a selectivity of 99% and unprecedented global stability. Our work can serve as inspiration for developing Ti-based catalysts for CO<sub>2</sub> conversion to C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH using solar energy.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2025-11-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202522838
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
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article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.73
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article

Ethanol Synthesis by CO 2 Photoreduction Catalyzed by Self‐Optimized Ti δ+ ‐Based Heterojunction

Shuyan Song, Liang Mao, Kaiqi Nie, Weidong Shi et al.
2 citations
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
0.73
article

Ethanol Synthesis by CO 2 Photoreduction Catalyzed by Self‐Optimized Ti δ+ ‐Based Heterojunction

Shuyan Song, Liang Mao, Kaiqi Nie, Weidong Shi, Zheyang Liu, Binhang Yan, Min Zhou, Jing Li, Rui Zhang, Hongjie Zhang, Zhi Liu, Huilin Wang, Zhifeng Jiang
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Photoreduction of CO<sub>2</sub> to ethanol (C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH) is a promising carbon-neutral technology for renewable energy. Nevertheless, low efficiency of multielectron utilization and high C─C coupling energy barrier cause poor performance in C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH production. Here, we report a TiO<sub>2-x</sub>/BNF (boron nitride flower) S-scheme heterojunction microreactor to steer the asymmetric Ti active sites configuration and redox potential, thereby enhancing the thermodynamic and kinetic formation of C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH. The S-scheme TiO<sub>2-x</sub>/BNF heterostructure provides spatially separated sites for CO<sub>2</sub> reduction and water oxidation with efficient charge carrier utilization. The flower-like structure of BNF improves the local concentration of *CO within microreactors originated from confinement effect to satisfy the coupling process. Self-generated oxygen vacancy in TiO<sub>2-x</sub> brought by BNF leads to different electron densities of adjacent Ti sites, which strengthens the adsorption of *CO and reduces the *CO-CHO formation energy. C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH dehydration is often difficult within the hydrophilic TiO<sub>2-x</sub>/BNF microreactor, thus it tends to produce C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH rather than C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>4</sub>. Through the synergizing effects, the well-constructed microreactor delivers an excellent C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH production rate of 51.4 µmol g<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> with a selectivity of 99% and unprecedented global stability. Our work can serve as inspiration for developing Ti-based catalysts for CO<sub>2</sub> conversion to C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH using solar energy.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 65(2)
Jiangsu University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), China University of Mining and Technology (CN), Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CN), Zero to Three (US), Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN), Tsinghua University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 27%
Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
0.73
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