No abstract

Light utilization largely governs the performance of CO2 photoconversion, whereas most of the materials that are implemented in such an application are restricted in a narrow spectral absorption range. Plasmonic metamaterials with a designable regular pattern and facile tunability are excellent candidates for maximizing light absorption to generate substantial hot electrons and thermal energy. Herein, a concept of coupling a Au‐based stacked plasmonic metamaterial with single Cu atoms in alloy, as light absorber and catalytic sites, respectively, is reported for gas‐phase light‐driven catalytic CO2 hydrogenation. The metamaterial structure works in a broad spectral range (370–1040 nm) to generate high surface temperature for photothermal catalysis, and also induces strong localized electric field in favor of transfer of hot electrons and reduced energy barrier in CO2 hydrogenation. This work unravels the significant role of a strong localized electric field in photothermal catalysis and demonstrates a scalable fabrication approach to light‐driven catalysts based on plasmonic metamaterials.

Various single metal sites supported on N-doped carbon materials have been demonstrated to be the effective catalysts for CO2 electroreduction. However, it remains a challenging task to gain comprehensive understanding...

The photothermal CO2 hydrogenation to high value‐added chemicals and fuels is an appealing approach to alleviate the energy and environmental concerns. However, it still relies on the development of earth‐abundant, efficient and durable catalysts. Here, we report the design of N‐doped carbon coated Co nanoparticles (NPs) as a photothermal catalyst, synthesized through a two‐step pyrolysis of Co‐based ZIF‐67 precursor. Consequently, the catalyst exhibits remarkable activity and stability for photothermal CO2 hydrogenation to CO with a 0.75 mol gcat−1 h−1 CO production rate under the full spectrum of light illumination. The high activity and durability of this Co NPs are mainly attributed to the synergy of the attuned size of Co NPs, the thickness of carbon layers and the N doping species. Impressively, the experimental characterizations and theoretical simulations show that such a simple N‐doped carbon coating strategy can effectively facilitate the desorption of generated CO and activation of reactants due to the strong photothermal effect. This work provides a simple and efficient route for the preparation of highly active and durable nonprecious metal catalysts for promising photothermal catalytic reactions.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved