A synergetic cocatalyst for conversion of carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water into methanol
Zhengwei Ye, Ke Yang, Bingxing Zhang, Ishtiaque Ahmed Navid, Yifan Shen, Yixin Xiao, Alexandre Pofelski, Gianluigi A. Botton, Tao Ma, Shubham Mondal, Theodore B. Norris, Víctor S. Batista, Zetian Mi
Abstract
The conversion of CO 2 into liquid fuels, using only sunlight and water, offers a promising path to carbon neutrality. An outstanding challenge is to achieve high efficiency and product selectivity. Here, we introduce a wireless photocatalytic architecture for conversion of CO 2 and water into methanol and oxygen. The catalytic material consists of semiconducting nanowires decorated with core–shell nanoparticles, with a copper-rhodium core and a chromium oxide shell. The Rh/CrOOH interface provides a unidirectional channel for proton reduction, enabling hydrogen spillover at the core–shell interface. The vectorial transfer of protons, electrons, and hydrogen atoms allows for switching the mechanism of CO 2 reduction from a proton-coupled electron transfer pathway in aqueous solution to hydrogenation of CO 2 with a solar-to-methanol efficiency of 0.22%. The reported findings demonstrate a highly efficient, stable, and scalable wireless system for synthesis of methanol from CO 2 that could provide a viable path toward carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability.