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.
Authors
- Shuyan Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7758-752X)
- Liang Mao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4647-5485)
- Kaiqi Nie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1150-8024)
- Weidong Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1123-8191)
- Zheyang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5926-8879)
- Binhang Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2833-8022)
- Min Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0444-0324)
- Jing Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4183-6440)
- Rui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1367-7593)
- Hongjie Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5433-8611)
- Zhi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8973-6561)
- Huilin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5277-4070)
- Zhifeng Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6589-6122)
Institutions
- 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)
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
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.73