MOF-Derived In2O3-CeO2 Composite Catalyst with Abundant Oxygen Vacancies for Photothermal CO2 Reduction

The conversion of CO2into value-added chemicals using photothermal catalysis is an attractive approach for achieving carbon neutrality. However, the limited visible-light absorption and rapid charge carrier recombination of CeO2hinder its photothermal catalytic performance. Herein, a series of In2O3-modified CeO2(In2O3-CeO2) are fabricated from a Ce-BTC metal–organic framework (MOF) precursor and applied to photothermal CO2hydrogenation. This approach not only effectively modulates the pore structure but also generates abundant oxygen vacancies (Ov). As a result, CO2adsorption and activation, charge separation and photothermal catalytic performance over In2O3-CeO2are significantly enhanced. The 3% In2O3-CeO2(3% denotes amounts of In) composite catalyst exhibits the optimal catalytic performance with a CO yield of 92.35 mmol·g−1·h−1and a remarkable 100% selectivity. A mechanistic study reveals that the Ov-rich interface facilitates electron transfer and promotes CO2conversion through a CO2→ *COOH → *CO reaction pathway. This work provides an effective strategy for designing high-efficiency MOF-derived composites to achieve carbon utilization.