Boron-doped Cu-Co catalyst boosting charge transfer in photothermal carbon dioxide hydrogenation

Photothermal catalysis of CO 2 hydrogenation holds great potential in achieving carbon neutrality . However, the rational design of cost-effective photothermal catalysts with high performance for CO 2 hydrogenation is an ongoing challenge. Herein, we employed CuCo y BOₓ composite catalysts by incorporating both CuBOₓ and amorphous CoBOₓ to efficiently catalyze the CO 2 hydrogenation. Besides the high selectivity (98.0%), the optimized CuCo 5 BO x demonstrated a remarkable CO yield of 124.7 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under illumination at 300°C, which was 3 times higher than the traditional thermocatalysis. Experimental results and theoretical calculations demonstrated CuBOₓ acted as a photocatalyst , donating electrons to CoBOₓ active sites. Coupling boron-oxygen species with CuCo bimetallic-oxides synergically enhanced the CO 2 adsorption capacity and accelerated charge transfer, thereby enhancing the photothermal synergistic effect and consequently boosting the catalytic activity. This study establishes an approach for the rational design of non-precious metal-boride catalysts, enabling efficient photothermal conversion of CO 2 into CO under mild conditions.