{
  "abstract": "Direct air capture (DAC) coupled to photocatalytic CO 2 splitting offers a route to simultaneously mitigate atmospheric CO 2 accumulation and produce sustainable fuels. However, integrations of DAC with photocatalytic CO 2 conversion have thus far relied on ultraviolet-light-absorbing TiO 2 and organic substrate oxidation, limiting solar energy utilisation and precluding a truly artificial photosynthetic reaction. Here, we introduce an integrated direct air carbon capture and utilisation (DACCU) system that couples under continuous flow nighttime atmospheric CO 2 capture with daytime gas-phase photocatalytic CO 2 splitting to CO and O 2 using a solid silica−amine adsorbent and a γ-Al 2 O 3 -supported visible-light-absorbing Z-scheme photocatalyst system, respectively. Gas-phase operation benefits CO 2 delivery and suppresses H2 evolution, achieving ~88% CO selectivity and ~100 h stability. Isotopic labelling confirmed that CO and O 2 originates from CO 2 and water, respectively. The DACCU prototype was operated outdoors over two consecutive day–night cycles, enabling continuous DAC at night with solar-thermal desorption and solar-driven conversion in the day. This work represents the first demonstration of producing solar fuels from only atmospheric CO 2 and moisture at low temperature and pressure and therefore provides a critical advance for the practical deployment of photocatalytic CO 2 splitting technologies.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, UK, CB2 1EW",
    "Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 162-8601",
    "Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki,, Noda-shi, Chiba, Japan, 278-8510",
    "Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Philippa Fawcett Drive, Cambridge, UK, CB3 0AS"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ariffin Bin Mohamad Annuar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ji Woo Park"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yongpeng Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yuichi Yamaguchi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Hamish W. MacLeod"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "David Fairen-Jimenez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Akihiko Kudo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Erwin Reisner",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7781-1616"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ccp6kp5zdj4pe.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "ccp6kp5zdj4pe",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2105|Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7208768265",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-04",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ccp6kp5zdj4pe.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "source:chemrxiv",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Atmospheric CO2 splitting using a visible light-driven Z-scheme photocatalyst in a gas-phase flow reactor",
  "title_text": "Atmospheric CO2 splitting using a visible light-driven Z-scheme photocatalyst in a gas-phase flow reactor",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ccp6kp5zdj4pe",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}