Activity Breakthrough in CO <sub>2</sub> Photoreduction to C <sub>2</sub> H <sub>6</sub> via Accelerated Electron Accumulation from H <sub>2</sub> O Photooxidation to H <sub>2</sub> O <sub>2</sub>
Solar-driven CO<sub>2</sub> reduction suffers from severe hole accumulation and inefficient electron utilization due to the sluggish kinetics of H<sub>2</sub>O oxidation to O<sub>2</sub>, thereby impeding the multi-electron C─C coupling process. This results in poor catalytic activity of C<sub>2</sub> products. Herein, we have constructed a conjugated stacked thiophene-based supramolecular catalyst with extensive π-electron delocalization by introducing a benzene ring. This effectively promotes the oxidation of H<sub>2</sub>O to H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, significantly accelerating hole consumption and thereby enhancing the electron reduction reaction of CO<sub>2</sub> at the metal center. Under illumination, the C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub> production rate reached 101.1 µmol·g<sup>-1</sup>·h<sup>-1</sup> with an electron selectivity as high as 98%. Compared to existing advanced systems, this represents an order-of-magnitude breakthrough in activity for C<sub>2</sub> product synthesis. Research indicates that the enrichment of π electrons on the benzene ring of the catalyst can stabilize the H<sub>2</sub>O oxidation intermediate *OH, consuming a significant number of holes to form H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. This process enhances the separation and migration of photo-generated electrons at the active center and promoting the *CO-bridged C─C coupling. This significantly increases the ability to reduce CO<sub>2</sub> to C<sub>2</sub> products. This work provides new insights into the economic viability of photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction to C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub> under pure H<sub>2</sub>O conditions.
Authors
- Xinxin Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3214-9750)
- Tingyu Yang
- Yuming Dong
- Xinyu Sun
- Jiawei Zhang
- Yongfa Zhu
Institutions
- Jiangnan University (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-12-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202521909
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.36