Enhanced Interfacial Charge Transfer/Separation By LSPR‐Induced Defective Semiconductor Toward High Co2RR Performance

Abstract Solar‐driven reduction of CO 2 emissions into high‐value‐added carbonaceous compounds has been recognized as a sustainable energy conversion way. The high‐efficiency charge separation and effective activation are the critical issues in the process. The local plasma effect of metal and the vacancy of semiconductors in the metal‐semiconductor heterostructure can solve this issue extensively. Herein, an oxygen vacancy photocatalyst containing uniform Ag nanoparticles (Ag‐20@Nb 2 O 5‐ x ) is designed, which exhibits an excellent reduction performance and the CO yield can reach 59.13 µmol g −1 with high selectivity. The carrier migration is accelerated and the activation of CO 2 is facilitated by the local surface plasmon effect and oxygen vacancy. Moreover, the photocatalytic CO 2 reduction mechanism is revealed based on the density functional theory and in situ technology in detail. This work provides an in‐depth understanding of the design of more ingenious metal‐semiconductor photocatalysts to achieve more efficient charge transfer.