Metal–Organic Framework Decorated Cuprous Oxide Nanowires for Long‐lived Charges Applied in Selective Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction to CH₄

Abstract

Abstract Improving the stability of cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) is imperative to its practical applications in artificial photosynthesis. In this work, Cu 2 O nanowires are encapsulated by metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) of Cu 3 (BTC) 2 (BTC=1,3,5‐benzene tricarboxylate) using a surfactant‐free method. Such MOFs not only suppress the water vapor‐induced corrosion of Cu 2 O but also facilitate charge separation and CO 2 uptake, thus resulting in a nanocomposite representing 1.9 times improved activity and stability for selective photocatalytic CO 2 reduction into CH 4 under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, direct transfer of photogenerated electrons from the conduction band of Cu 2 O to the LUMO level of non‐excited Cu 3 (BTC) 2 has been evidenced by time‐resolved photoluminescence. This work proposes an effective strategy for CO 2 conversion by a synergy of charge separation and CO 2 adsorption, leading to the enhanced photocatalytic reaction when MOFs are integrated with metal oxide photocatalyst.