Low-coordination environment design of single Co atoms for efficient CO2 photoreduction

Photocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO) offers a promising way for both alleviating the greenhouse effect and meeting the industrial demand. Herein, we constructed a Co single-atom catalyst with intentional low-coordination environment design on porous ZnO (denoted as Co1/ZnO). Impressively, Co1/ZnO exhibited a remarkable activity with a CO yield rate of 22.25 mmol·g−1·h−1 and a selectivity of 80.2% for CO2 photoreduction reactions under visible light. The incorporation of single Co atoms provided an additional photo-generated electron transfer channel, which suppressed the carrier recombination of photocatalysts. Moreover, the unsaturated Co active sites were capable to adsorb CO2 molecule spontaneously, thus facilitating the activation of CO2 molecule during CO2 reduction course.