Photocatalytic
CO2 conversion to fuels is a promising
strategy for achieving global carbon neutrality. However, infrared
light, which accounts for ∼50% of the full sunlight spectrum,
has not yet been effectively utilized via photocatalysis. Here, we
present an approach to directly power photocatalytic CO2 reduction using near-infrared light. This near-infrared light-responsive
process occurs on an in situ generated Co3O4/Cu2O photocatalyst with a nanobranch structure.
Photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy and relative photocatalytic
measurements demonstrate the increase of surface photovoltage after
illumination by near-infrared light. We also find that Cu(I) on this in situ generated Co3O4/Cu2O could facilitate the formation of a *CHO intermediate, thus enabling
a high-performance CH4 production with a yield of 6.5 μmol/h
and a selectivity of 99%. Moreover, we perform a practically oriented
direct solar-driven photocatalytic CO2 reduction under
concentrated sunlight and achieve a fuel yield of 12.5 μmol/h.
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