Living Atomically Dispersed Cu Ultrathin TiO₂ Nanosheet CO₂ Reduction Photocatalyst

Supported atomically dispersed metals are proving to be efficacious photocatalysts for CO₂ reduction to solar fuels. While being atom efficient, they suffer from being noble, rare, and costly (Pt, Pd, Au, Ag, Rh) and lacking in long-term stability. Herein, all of these problems are solved with the discovery that atomically dispersed Cu supported on ultrathin TiO₂ nanosheets can photocatalytically reduce an aqueous solution of CO₂ to CO. The atomically dispersed Cu can be recycled in a straightforward procedure when they become oxidatively deactivated. This advance bodes well for the development of a solar fuels technology founded on abundant, low-cost, nontoxic, atomically dispersed metal photocatalysts.