Designing efficient photocatalyst materials for CO₂ reduction and utilization has become important to address environmental and energy concerns. A new type of core–shell-structured nanocomposite catalyst is reported herein, in which single-site Co catalytic species are immobilized in graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) layered on Au nanorods (NRs) for surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-enhanced photocatalytic CO₂ conversion. Single-site Co species were incorporated into g-C₃N₄ via a simple pyrolysis process, and core–shell nanocomposites were self-formed via electrostatic interactions between the positively charged surfaces of the Au NRs and negatively charged single-site Co-coordinated g-C₃N₄ layer. The structure was comprehensively examined by TEM, XRD, UV–vis, Co K-edge XAFS, FT-IR, and zeta potential measurements, which showed that the g-C₃N₄ layer did not prevent the Au NRs from absorbing visible light. The nanocomposite efficiently catalyzed the reduction of CO₂ to CO under visible light irradiation with the assistance of the SPR of the Au NRs. The catalytic activity of the core–shell-structured catalyst was superior to that of the corresponding aggregated catalyst, demonstrating that the formation of a core–shell structure affords efficient electron transport from the Au NRs to the catalytically active Co species.

设计用于 CO ₂还原和利用的高效光催化剂材料对于解决环境和能源问题变得很重要。本文报道了一种新型核壳结构纳米复合催化剂，其中单点 Co 催化物质固定在石墨氮化碳 (gC ₃ N ₄ ) 上，层状金纳米棒 (NRs) 用于表面等离子体共振 (SPR)-增强光催化CO ₂转化。单点 Co 物种被纳入 gC ₃ N ₄通过简单的热解过程，核壳纳米复合材料是通过带正电的 Au NRs 表面和带负电的单点配位 gC ₃ N ₄层之间的静电相互作用自形成的。通过 TEM、XRD、UV-vis、Co K-edge XAFS、FT-IR 和 zeta 电位测量对结构进行了全面检查，结果表明 gC ₃ N ₄层不会阻止 Au NRs 吸收可见光。纳米复合材料有效催化 CO ₂的还原在 Au NRs 的 SPR 的帮助下，在可见光照射下转化为 CO。核壳结构催化剂的催化活性优于相应的聚集催化剂，表明核壳结构的形成提供了从 Au NRs 到催化活性 Co 物种的有效电子传输。