Atomically Dispersed Indium‐Copper Dual‐Metal Active Sites Promoting C−C Coupling for CO<sub>2</sub> Photoreduction to Ethanol
Hainan Shi, Haozhi Wang, Yichen Zhou, Jiahui Li, Panlong Zhai, Xiangyang Li, Gagik G. Gurzadyan, Jungang Hou, Hong Yang, Xinwen Guo
Abstract
Abstract Photoreduction of CO 2 to C 2+ solar fuel is a promising carbon‐neutral technology for renewable energy. This strategy is challenged by its low productivity due to low efficiency in multielectron utilization and slow C−C coupling kinetics. This work reports a dual‐metal photocatalyst consisting of atomically dispersed indium and copper anchored on polymeric carbon nitride (InCu/PCN), on which the photoreduction of CO 2 delivered an excellent ethanol production rate of 28.5 μmol g −1 h −1 with a high selectivity of 92 %. Coupled experimental investigation and DFT calculations reveal the following mechanisms underpinning the high performance of this catalyst. Essentially, the In−Cu interaction enhances the charge separation by accelerating charge transfer from PCN to the metal sites. Indium also transfers electrons to neighboring copper via Cu−N−In bridges, increasing the electron density of copper active sites. Furthermore, In−Cu dual‐metal sites promote the adsorption of *CO intermediates and lower the energy barrier of C−C coupling.