Partial Phase Transition to Construct Amorphous-Crystalline Heterophase Catalyst for Enhanced CO₂ Photoreduction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Amorphous/crystalline catalysts offer combined benefits, addressing limitations of individual phases.
• Efficient photocatalytic CO₂ reduction is crucial for sustainable energy solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel synthesis strategy for amorphous/crystalline CoMnOₓ nanosheets.
• To investigate their performance in photocatalytic CO₂ reduction.

Main Methods:

• Alkali salt-assisted partial phase transition.
• Synthesis of amorphous/crystalline CoMnOₓ-400 nanosheets.
• Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction experiments and characterizations.

Main Results:

• CoMnOₓ-400 demonstrated superior CO production (146.09 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) and selectivity (93.6%).
• Outperformed amorphous CoMnOₓ-260 and crystalline CoMnOₓ-500.
• Enhanced efficiency attributed to improved charge separation and abundant active sites.

Conclusions:

• Phase engineering, specifically amorphous/crystalline structures, is key for advanced solar-driven catalysis.
• The developed CoMnOₓ-400 catalyst shows great promise for CO₂ conversion.