Oxygen Vacancy-Enriched N-Doped In₂O₃ Double-Shell Hollow Dodecahedrons Decorated with Au and Co₃O₄ Nanoparticles for the Photocatalytic CO₂ Conversion

Converting CO2 into useful chemicals or fuels through photocatalysis makes an important contribution to mitigating energy shortages and climate change. Effective separation of photogenerated charges, as well as related surface states, plays a crucial role in semiconductor photocatalytic systems for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction. In this research, to enhance the performance of In2O3 on photocatalytic CO2 reduction, we prepared unique N-doped In2O3 double-shell hollow dodecahedrons coupled with Au and Co3O4 dual-cocatalysts (Au/N–In2O3/Co3O4). The experimental analysis showed that dual-cocatalysts, double-shell hollow structure, and oxygen vacancies induced by N-doping can greatly achieve charge separation/utilization efficiency and increase active sites, visible light absorption, and the CO2 adsorption capacity. The synergy of these positive factors makes the optimized hybrid catalyst exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity, and the average yields of CO and CH4 under simulated solar irradiation were 96.1 and 19.9 μmol h–1 g–1, respectively, which were approximately twice as high as the yields of pure In2O3. This work reports a feasible strategy for establishing an In2O3-involved excellent photocatalytic CO2 reduction system.