Abstract Catalytic converting CO2 into fuels with the help of solar energy is regarded as ‘dream reaction’, as both energy crisis and environmental issue can be mitigated simultaneously. However, it is still suffering from low efficiency due to narrow solar-spectrum utilization and sluggish heterogeneous reaction kinetics. In this work, we demonstrate that catalytic reduction of CO2 can be achieved over Au nanoparticles (NPs) deposited rutile under full solar-spectrum irradiation, boosted by solar-heating effect. We found that UV and visible light can initiate the reaction, and the heat from IR light and local surface-plasmon resonance relaxation of Au NPs can boost the reaction kinetically. The apparent activation energy is determined experimentally and is used to explain the superior catalytic activity of Au/rutile to rutile in a kinetic way. We also find the photo-thermal synergy in the Au/rutile system. We envision that this work may facilitate understanding the kinetics of CO2 reduction and developing feasible catalytic systems with full solar spectrum utilization for practical artificial photosynthesis.

中文翻译：

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太阳能加热促进了全太阳光谱下 CO2 的催化还原

摘要 在太阳能的帮助下将二氧化碳催化转化为燃料被认为是“梦寐以求的反应”，因为能源危机和环境问题可以同时得到缓解。然而，由于太阳能光谱利用范围窄和非均相反应动力学缓慢，它仍然存在效率低下的问题。在这项工作中，我们证明了在太阳加热效应的推动下，在全太阳光谱照射下沉积金红石的 Au 纳米粒子 (NPs) 可以实现 CO2 的催化还原。我们发现紫外光和可见光可以引发反应，红外光产生的热量和 Au NPs 的局部表面等离子体共振弛豫可以在动力学上促进反应。表观活化能是通过实验确定的，用于以动力学方式解释 Au/金红石对金红石的优越催化活性。我们还在 Au/金红石系统中发现了光热协同作用。我们设想这项工作可能有助于理解 CO2 还原的动力学，并为实际的人工光合作用开发具有全太阳光谱利用的可行催化系统。