Atmospheric CO2 splitting using a visible light-driven Z-scheme photocatalyst in a gas-phase flow reactor
4 affiliations
- 1Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, UK, CB2 1EW
- 2Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, 1-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 162-8601
- 3Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki,, Noda-shi, Chiba, Japan, 278-8510
- 4Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Philippa Fawcett Drive, Cambridge, UK, CB3 0AS
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.
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BibTeX
@misc{annuar2026atmospheric,
title = {{Atmospheric CO2 splitting using a visible light-driven Z-scheme photocatalyst in a gas-phase flow reactor}},
author = {Ariffin Bin Mohamad Annuar and Ji Woo Park and Yongpeng Liu and Yuichi Yamaguchi and Hamish W. MacLeod and David Fairen-Jimenez and Akihiko Kudo and Erwin Reisner},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Atmospheric CO2 splitting using a visible light-driven Z-scheme photocatalyst in a gas-phase flow reactor
AU - Ariffin Bin Mohamad Annuar
AU - Ji Woo Park
AU - Yongpeng Liu
AU - Yuichi Yamaguchi
AU - Hamish W. MacLeod
AU - David Fairen-Jimenez
AU - Akihiko Kudo
AU - Erwin Reisner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/04
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008316/v1
AB - 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.
ER -