Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction with H₂O over wide bandgap semiconductor-based photocatalysts is significantly limited by the low light utilization efficiency and poor activation of CO₂/H₂O molecules on the photocatalyst’s surface. Herein, we demonstrate that oxygen-deficient ZnO/carbon dot (OD-ZnO/C) hybrid, rationally engineered with synergistically enhanced CO₂/H₂O activation ability and increased light utilization efficiency, showed excellent full spectrum (UV, visible and NIR light)-driven CO₂ photoreduction. Under UV–Vis-NIR, Vis-NIR and NIR light separately, the optimized sample demonstrated high quantum yields of 0.26%, 0.13% and 0.05% for CO production, yields which are considerably superior to the reported values in the literature. The synergistic effects between OD-ZnO and carbon dots for visible- and NIR-driven CO₂ reduction were systematically investigated. Experimental results showed that both the defect-induced sub-band in OD-ZnO and the upconverting emission from the carbon dots effectively increased the light utilization efficiency within the UV–Vis to NIR region, and the heterojunctions formed between OD-ZnO and carbon dots promoted the efficient separation of charge carriers. Meanwhile, the defect-rich surface ensures the efficient adsorption and activation of CO₂/H₂O into the key intermediate CO₂^–, formate, and hydroxyl species, which are effectively converted under light illumination from UV–Vis to NIR region. Based on the combined results of the CO₂ photoreduction analysis and the material characterization, plausible CO₂ photoreduction pathways under visible and NIR light irradiation are proposed.

H ₂ O在宽带隙半导体基光催化剂上的光催化还原CO ₂受到光利用率低和光催化剂表面CO ₂ / H ₂ O分子活化不良的限制。在本文中，我们证明了合理设计，协同增强的CO ₂ / H ₂ O活化能力和提高的光利用效率的缺氧ZnO /碳点（OD-ZnO / C）杂化物显示出优异的全光谱（UV，可见光和NIR）光）驱动的CO ₂光还原。在UV-Vis-NIR，Vis-NIR和NIR分别照射下，优化的样品显示出CO产生的0.26％，0.13％和0.05％的高量子产率，其产率大大优于文献报道的值。系统研究了OD-ZnO和碳点对可见光和NIR驱动的CO ₂还原的协同作用。实验结果表明，OD-ZnO中的缺陷诱导子带和碳点的上转换发射都有效地提高了UV-Vis到NIR区域内的光利用效率，并且OD-ZnO和碳点之间形成了异质结促进了电荷载体的有效分离。同时，富含缺陷的表面确保了CO ₂的有效吸附和活化/ H ₂ O转化为关键的中间体CO ₂ ^–，甲酸盐和羟基物质，这些物质在光照下从UV–Vis到NIR区域有效转化。基于CO _2光还原分析和材料表征的综合结果，提出了可见光和近红外光照射下合理的CO _2光还原途径。