Highly efficient and stable photothermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to methanol over Ru/In2O3 under atmospheric pressure

Photothermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to CH3OH with renewable H-2 is a promising method to convert solar energy into chemical energy. However, it is still impeded by limited CO2 conversion efficiency and poor CH3OH selectivity under mild conditions. Herein, we report a Ru/In2O3 catalyst for efficient and stable photothermal CH3OH production from CO2 hydrogenation under atmospheric pressure. The Ru/In2O3 catalyst delivers a remarkable solar CH3OH production of 280.4 mu mol g(-1) h(-1), which is similar to 50 times higher than that of pure In2O3 under the same conditions and surpasses by far reported In2O3-based photothermal catalysts. Detailed characterizations demonstrate that the synergy of photothermal heating effect and hot-carriers-induced activation of reactants on Ru together with the interaction between Ru and In2O3 enhances the activation of CO2 and H-2. Moreover, Ru modulates the electronic structure of In2O3 and promotes the generation of oxygen vacancies, which is favorable for the hydrogenation process to form CH3OH. This work paves a way for the rational design of efficient catalysts for solar CH3OH production from CO2 hydrogenation under mild conditions.