Ambient Sunlight Driven Photothermal Green Syngas Production at 100 m3 Scale by the Dynamic Structural Reconstruction of Iron Oxides with 38.7% Efficiency

• Published in: Advanced functional materials 2025-01, Vol.35 (2), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Wu, Qixuan, Wang, Jialin, Yuan, Dachao, Wang, Yachuan, Li, Yaguang, Guo, Yunna, Zhang, Zhibo, San, Xingyuan, Zhang, Liqiang, Ye, Jinhua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; Catalysts; dynamic structural reconstruction; Energy conversion efficiency; Enthalpy; green syngas; Iron oxides; Low temperature; Nanoparticles; photothermal catalysis; Photothermal conversion; Platinum; Reconstruction; RWGS; Scale (corrosion); Structural analysis; Sunlight; Synthesis gas
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202412562

Ambient sunlight‐driven photothermal green syngas production via reverse water‐gas shift (RWGS) reaction is important for carbon neutrality, which lacks efficient and inexpensive catalysts at low temperatures. This studydemonstrates that the scalable Fe3O4 supported with K atoms modified Ag nanoparticles (AgK/Fe3O4) exhibits a RWGS CO production rate of 1089 mmol g−1 h−1 at 300 °C and 100% CO selectivity through dynamic structural reconstruction, surpassing all reported platinum‐based catalysts. In situ characterization and theoretical simulation indicate that the AgK nanoparticles activate H2 to reduce Fe3O4 as metallic Fe. Subsequently, the metallic Fe spontaneously reacts with CO2 to form CO and Fe3O4, thereby facilitating low‐temperature RWGS. Owing to its superior low‐temperature performance, AgK/Fe3O4 equipped with a homemade photothermal device achieves one sun‐driven photothermal RWGS with a CO production rate of 1925 mmol g−1 h−1 and a 38.7% solar to enthalpy energy conversion efficiency. Furthermore, the enlarged outdoor demonstration yields 100.6 m3day−1 of green syngas with an H2/CO ratio of 3. This work paves the way for designing efficient platinum‐free CO2 hydrogenation catalysts and introduces a new approach for sunlight‐driven scalable green syngas production. The AgK/Fe3O4 exhibits a thermal RWGS CO rate of 1089 mmol g−1 h−1 at 300 °C with 100% selectivity, an ambient solar‐driven photothermal RWGS CO rate of 1925 mmol g−1 h−1, a solar to enthalpy energy conversion efficiency of 38.7%, 100.6 m3 of outdoor green syngas production per day.