Cobalt-Backboned Oligomer for Record Photocatalytic CO2 Conversion to Ethanol.

Solar-driven conversion of CO2 into value-added products is promising for renewable energy storage and carbon neutrality. Although current photocatalysts demonstrate the capability to convert CO2 into multiple carbon products including ethanol, their performance is limited by high C─C coupling energy barrier and inefficient intermediate enrichment. Here we synthesize a cobalt-backboned oligomer as an efficient photocatalyst to generate a record-high ethanol production rate of 497 µmol/(g·h) for CO2 photoreduction. It also maintains high performance in cases with simulated industrial flue gas with ∼15% CO2 and a Martian-like atmosphere with ∼95% CO2. These properties stem from unique electronic modulation through metal-metal bonding and intermolecular assembly for high-activity reaction channels. This atomically precise cobalt-backboned oligomer opens a new avenue for designing photocatalysts.