Turing-Inspired Architecture for Efficient Full-Spectrum Photothermal Catalytic CO₂ Reduction

Catalyst geometric topology fundamentally determines maximized active site density, optimized microenvironment crucial for charge separation and reactant activation, but effective strategies for its precise, self-organized regulation are scarce. Herein, a novel Turing-inspired full-spectrum responsive photo-thermal-catalytic architecture consisting of graphitic carbon nanosheet (g-CNS)-supported Turing-type Ta₂O₅ nanomesh for selectively photo-reducing CO₂ to CO is reported. The unique labyrinthine network and high-density twin boundaries of Turing Ta₂O₅ not only significantly enhance mass transfer kinetics, improve charge separation, and expand the exposed active area, but also create abundant coordinatively-unsaturated Ta sites demonstrated to lower the free-energy barrier for CO₂ reduction to CO. Additionally, the intimate coupling and layered arrangement minimize heat transfer loss, ensuring highly localized heating at the active interface. Under full-spectrum irradiation (0.5 W cm^-2), the Turing Ta₂O₅@g-CNS rapidly heats to 227 °C and achieves a cocatalyst-free CO yield of 366.6 µmol g^-1 h^-1 using H₂O as the reducing agent, representing ≈19-fold enhancement over its non-Turing counterpart. This study enriches the repertoire of full-spectrum catalysts, furthering the Turing structure design concept for enhanced catalytic efficiency.