Simultaneous co‐Photocatalytic CO2Reduction and Ethanol Oxidation towards Synergistic Acetaldehyde Synthesis

Abstract

AbstractPhotocatalytic conversion of CO2is of great interest but it often suffers sluggish oxidation half reaction and undesired by‐products. Here, we report for the first the simultaneous co‐photocatalytic CO2reduction and ethanol oxidation towards one identical value‐added CH3CHO product on a rubidium and potassium co‐modified carbon nitride (CN‐KRb). The CN‐KRb offers a record photocatalytic activity of 1212.3 μmol h−1g−1with a high selectivity of 93.3 % for CH3CHO production, outperforming all the state‐of‐art CO2photocatalysts. It is disclosed that the introduced Rb boosts the *OHCCHO fromation and facilitates the CH3CHO desorption, while K promotes ethanol adsorption and activation. Moreover, the H+stemming from ethanol oxidation is confirmed to participate in the CO2reduction process, endowing near ideal overall atomic economy. This work provides a new strategy for effective use of the photoexcited electron and hole for high selective and sustainable conversion of CO2paired with oxidation reaction into identical product.