Atomic Interface Engineering of Single‐Atom Pt/TiO₂‐Ti₃C₂ for Boosting Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

Abstract

Abstract Solar‐driven CO 2 conversion into valuable fuels is a promising strategy to alleviate the energy and environmental issues. However, inefficient charge separation and transfer greatly limits the photocatalytic CO 2 reduction efficiency. Herein, single‐atom Pt anchored on 3D hierarchical TiO 2 ‐Ti 3 C 2 with atomic‐scale interface engineering is successfully synthesized through an in situ transformation and photoreduction method. The in situ growth of TiO 2 on Ti 3 C 2 nanosheets can not only provide interfacial driving force for the charge transport, but also create an atomic‐level charge transfer channel for directional electron migration. Moreover, the single‐atom Pt anchored on TiO 2 or Ti 3 C 2 can effectively capture the photogenerated electrons through the atomic interfacial PtO bond with shortened charge migration distance, and simultaneously serve as active sites for CO 2 adsorption and activation. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of the atomic interface engineering of single‐atom Pt and interfacial TiOTi, the optimized photocatalyst exhibits excellent CO 2 ‐to‐CO conversion activity of 20.5 µmol g −1 h −1 with a selectivity of 96%, which is five times that of commercial TiO 2 (P25). This work sheds new light on designing ideal atomic‐scale interface and single‐atom catalysts for efficient solar fuel conversation.