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The flow-type artificial photosynthesis assisted by photothermal catalysis over Fe/Fe3C nanocatalyst to convert CO2 and H2O into multi-hydrocarbons
Nano Research 2025, 18(10): 94907966
Published: 10 October 2025
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The flow-type artificial photosynthesis converts CO2 and H2O into multi-hydrocarbons (C2+), combining both environmental and economic benefits. However, it is limited by the low C2+ selectivity and low CO2 conversion efficiency. In this work, we coupled the photovoltaic hydrogen production from water and the photothermal CO2 hydrogenation system to form a new artificial photosynthesis system, exhibiting a CO2 conversion rate of 29.3% with C2+ selectivity reaching 82.1% at ambient pressure and 1 kW·m−2 of sunlight irradiation, which is beyond the state of the art of traditional artificial photosynthesis. The excellent sunlight driven C2+ generation performance is attributed to the catalyst of alkali metal K doped Fe/Fe3C, which is synthesized by Berlin green (BG) pyrolysis by controlling the BG precipitation aging temperature. The heterostructure of K doped Fe/Fe3C can promote the formation of C2+ by enhancing CO2 adsorption/activation and promoting C–C coupling at the interface of Fe and Fe3C. This study provides new insights for designing efficient CO2 conversion catalysts and is of great significance for promoting the practical application of artificial photosynthesis technology.

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