Asymmetric‐Coordinated Indium Single Atoms for Highly Selective Photocatalytic CO <sub>2</sub> Reduction
ABSTRACT Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction involves multiple proton‐coupled and multi‐electron transfers, leading to a plethora of reaction pathways and consequently unpredictable products. The unique electronic structure and unsaturated coordination environment of single‐atom photocatalysts can influence the reaction pathways of CO 2 photoreduction, enhancing the yield of a target product. Herein, we rationally design the In single‐atom photocatalyst (In‐NTO) containing isolated In δ+ –N 3 O 2 atomic interface sites for highly efficient and selective CO 2 ‐to‐CO photoreduction. This distinctive atomic configuration not only reduces the overall activation energy barrier but also transforms the key *CO desorption step from an endoergic to an exoergic one, thereby altering the reaction pathway to selectively produce CO rather than CH 4 . Consequently, the 0.25 wt% In‐NTO exhibits high selectivity (95.9%) for photocatalytic CO 2 ‐to‐CO conversion, with a rate of 6.34 µmol g −1 h −1 . This work offers a novel strategy for modulating the reactivity and product selectivity of photocatalytic CO 2 reduction toward desired products by constructing single‐atom sites with heteroatomic coordination.
Authors
- Ning Han
- Fengyu Tian
- Jiayu Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0163-4913)
- Yaohao Li
- Huiwen Zhu
- Honglei Zhang
- Xuemin Yan
Institutions
- University of Nottingham Ningbo China (CN)
- Ningbo University of Technology (CN)
- Yangtze University (CN)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Nano Carbon (Poland) (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Carbon Energy
- Published
- 2026-01-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cey2.70166
- Primary Topic
- CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00