In 2025, escalating consumption of fossil fuels has driven the atmospheric CO2 concentration to 430 ppm, which is the highest value in human history. Photoelectrocatalytic CO2 reduction offers a viable strategy to mitigate CO2 levels, while addressing the surging demand for fossil energy. Herein, an in situ synthesis strategy of a solvothermal method combining with successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) was developed to fabricate a 3D honeycomb-structured In2S3/CdS heterojunction on carbon paper mimicking plant cells for PEC CO2 reduction. The carbon paper substrate exhibits an excellent photothermal effect, with its surface temperature reaching 65 °C. Photochemical and photoelectrochemical analyses indicate that the formation of the heterojunction can effectively enhance the utilization of photogenerated carriers. Thus, the optimal In2S3/CdS-4h catalyst reduces CO2 to HCOOH, CH3COOH, and CH3CH2OH products under mild reaction conditions, with a carbon-based product formation rate of 28.75 μM h-1 cm-2 and an electron selectivity for C2 products of 88.8%. Repeated experiments reveal a favorable reproducibility of In2S3/CdS-4h photoelectrodes with the RSD lower than 10%. Moreover, the In2S3/CdS-4h heterojunction exhibits improved stability, retaining 70.5% of its initial activity after five cycles (10 h), whereas CdS retains only 53.8%. Considering the underlying mechanism, optical simulations and chemical field simulations confirm the benefits of this honeycomb structure on light absorption and C2 product selectivity, respectively. Operando IR spectra identified the key *OCHO and *OC-COH intermediates responsible for the formation of the C1 and C2 products, respectively. Finally, DFT calculations show that the In2S3/CdS interface specifically promotes C-C coupling (forming *OC-COH) compared with the individual components. This work presents a perspective for the rational design of catalysts via multieffect synergy, advancing efficient PEC CO2 reduction to C2 products.
Liu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.