Tandem catalysts CuSe/AuX for increasing local *CO concentration to promote the photocatalytic CO2 reduction to C2H4

Abstract

AbstractIt is highly desired yet challenging to strategically steer CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) toward ethylene (C2H4) with high activity under visible light irradiation. The key to achieving this goal is increasing the local *CO concentration on the catalyst surface and promoting the C‐C coupling progress. Here, we prepare tandem catalysts of CuSe/AuX to realize the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to C2H4 with high activity. Under light irradiation, the loaded Au NPs are used to activate and transfer CO2 to *CO. The generated *CO intermediate could migrate to the surface of CuSe and cause the C‐C coupling process. Moreover, the theoretical calculation results show that the transport process of *CO from Au NPs to CuSe is spontaneous, which plays a critical role in guaranteeing the high concentration of *CO intermediate on the surface of CuSe. This work not only reveals the effect of tandem catalysis on CO2RR to C2 products but also explores the most suitable tandem catalyst to produce C2H4 with high activity by adjusting the loading amounts of Au NPs. Thus, it provides a way to adjust the Cu‐based catalyst used in the production of C2 products by photocatalytic CO2RR, which may attract extensive attention in the field.