Modulating the Moderate d‐Band Center of Indium in InVO4 Nanobelts by Synergizing MnOx and Oxygen Vacancies for High‐Efficiency CO2 Photoreduction

Abstract Modulating the electronic properties of transition metal sites in photocatalysts at the atomic level is essential for achieving high‐activity carbon dioxide photoreduction (CO 2 PR). An electronic strategy is herein proposed to engineer In‐d‐band center of InVO 4 by incorporating MnO x nanoparticles and oxygen vacancies (V O ) into holey InVO 4 nanobelts (MnO x /V O ‐InVO 4 ), which synergistically modulates the In‐d‐band center to a moderate level and consequently leads to high‐efficiency CO 2 PR. The MnO x /V O ‐InVO 4 catalyst with optimized electronic property exhibits a single carbon evolution rate of up to 145.3 µmol g −1 h −1 and a carbon monoxide (CO) product selectivity of 92.6%, coming out in front of reported InVO 4 ‐based materials. It is discovered that the modulated electronic property favors the interaction between the In sites and their intermediates, which thereby improves the thermodynamics and kinetics of the CO 2 PR‐to‐CO reaction. This work not only demonstrates the effective engineering of the d orbital of the low‐coordination In atoms to promote CO 2 PR, but also paves the way for the application of tuning d‐band center to develop high‐efficiency catalysts.