Natural Sunlight‐Driven CO₂ Hydrogenation into Light Olefins at Ambient Pressure over Bifunctional Cu‐Promoted CoFe Alloy Catalyst

Abstract

Abstract The natural sunlight‐driven conversion of CO 2 into valuable C 2+ products is urgently being pursued at ambient pressure, yet it poses a substantial challenge. Herein, a bifunctional Cu‐promoted CoFe alloy catalyst is designed for the natural light‐driven CO 2 hydrogenation into light olefins. Under a weak solar‐irradiation intensity of 0.45 kW m −2 (0.45 sun), the optimal catalyst exhibits excellent activity and selectivity, with an impressive 73.7% selectivity for C 2+ hydrocarbons and an outstanding 56.5% selectivity for C 2‐4 olefins, which is the best catalyst for C 2+ hydrocarbons photosynthesis from natural sunlight to date. The bifunctional design of the catalyst combines the advantages of both metallic Cu and CoFe alloy components, providing a synergistic effect that enhances the CO 2 hydrogenation performance. The Cu promoter plays a crucial role in enhancing the adsorption of CO 2 and hydrogen spillover, while the CoFe alloy provides a stable coupling site of the C 1 intermediate for promoting the C 2‐4 olefins. This study provides new insights into the design of bifunctional catalysts for CO 2 hydrogenation and opens up new possibilities for sustainable production of light olefins from renewable resources.