Tailoring the electronic structure of In₂O₃/C photocatalysts for enhanced CO₂ reduction

Photoreduction of CO2 into value-added fuels under mild conditions is a promising route to relieve the pressure from extensive CO2 emission and energy consumption, but the rational design of novel photocatalysts for efficient CO2 reduction remains a big challenge. Herein, a series of transition metal doped In2O3/C (M = Fe, Cu, and Zn) photocatalysts are prepared based on a bimetallic metal-organic framework template, where the rearrangement of electron density distribution is facilely achieved via doping metal atoms. Correspondingly, the broadened light-harvesting scope, charge transfer rate, and produced intermediates in photocatalytic CO2 reduction can be optimized. In particular, Cu-In2O3/C exhibits a largely improved CO yield with a high selectivity, which is superior to that of most of the previously reported photocatalysts derived from MOFs. This work thus provides an efficient approach for tailoring the electronic structure of photocatalysts, which shows promising applications in carbon cycling.