Early View e202509855
Research Article

Establishing 3d–4d Orbital Hybridization for Efficient Photothermal Catalytic CO2 Hydrogenation

Yisi Yang

Yisi Yang

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China

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Dr. Fengliang Wang

Corresponding Author

Dr. Fengliang Wang

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Wenyuan Lyu

Wenyuan Lyu

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China

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Dawang Tang

Dawang Tang

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China

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Datong Chen

Datong Chen

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China

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Dr. Xin Zhao

Dr. Xin Zhao

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China

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Prof. Ruiqi Fang

Prof. Ruiqi Fang

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China

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Prof. Yingwei Li

Corresponding Author

Prof. Yingwei Li

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 08 July 2025

Graphical Abstract

The d-d hybridization between 3d and 4d metals can induce the modulation of the affinity of *CO intermediate, thereby accelerating the *CO hydrogenation process in photothermal CO2 methanation.

Abstract

Photothermal catalytic CO2 conversion offers a promising way to address the energy and environmental issues; however, the development of self-supporting catalysts with high activity and selectivity remains a great challenge. Here, we report the decoration of PdCo alloy on self-supporting carbon cloth with N-doped carbon arrays (PdCo-NC/CC) for efficient photothermal catalytic methanation. In situ spectra and density function theoretical (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the 3d-4d hybridization between Co and Pd enables an increase in the energy level of the dz2-5σ and dyz-2π* states in the CO/PdCo alloy, thus enhancing the binding strength of the *CO intermediate and accelerating the CO hydrogenation. Specifically, the self-supporting substrate provides highly dispersed metal sites for CO2 methanation while serving as a photo-to-heat converter to improve the temperature of the reaction system. As a result, PdCo-NC/CC exhibits unprecedented photothermal performance toward CO2 methanation, delivering a CH4 generation rate as high as 15.23 mol gmetal−1 h−1 and a selectivity of 100% in batch reaction under the irradiation of Xenon lamp without any external thermal source. Moreover, the continuous flow photothermal reaction can be smoothly proceeded over 100 h, demonstrating the high stability of PdCo-NC/CC in CO2 hydrogenation.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Supporting Information of this article.

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