Stabilization of Atomic CoOx Clusters on Oxygen Vacancy-Rich TiO2 for Enhanced Photocatalytic CO2 to Methanol.

This study utilizes cold plasma etching to create oxygen vacancies on TiO2 nanosheets, which serve as anchoring sites to achieve atomic dispersion of CoOx clusters. The synthesized catalyst exhibits exceptional performance in photocatalytic CO2 to methanol, yielding 542.3 μmol·g-1·h-1 approximately three times higher than that of the nonplasma-treated samples. Comprehensive characterizations confirm the atomic dispersion of cobalt and strong metal-support interactions, which enhance charge separation/transfer kinetics. In situ DRIFTS analysis further elucidates the CO2 to methanol reaction pathway via a *COOH intermediate. This work provides a valuable blueprint for designing efficient, atomically dispersed photocatalysts through vacancy-confined synthesis.