No abstract

A strong sunlight-absorptive ability and high dispersity are considered as two key requirements of supported metal catalysts for efficient photothermal CO 2 conversions. The former can be improved by increasing the metal loading but often at the expense of decreasing the latter. Here we develop an ion-exchange route to supported Ru nanoparticles with both high loadings and dispersity that exhibit enhanced activity and relatively good stability in photothermal CO 2 catalysis. This strategy involves an ionexchange reaction between Ru 3+ and Mg(OH) 2 to form uniformly distributed and chemically bonded Ru precursors on Mg(OH) 2 supports. The subsequent lowtemperature reduction by H 2 produces highly dispersed Ru nanoparticles whose sizes barely change as the loading increases. Our study provides an avenue for the preparation of strongly light-absorptive and highly dispersed metal catalysts for efficient conversion of carbon dioxide into solar fuels.

As an analogue to the vapor–liquid–solid process, the solution–liquid–solid (SLS) method offers a mild solution‐phase route to colloidal 1D nanostructures with controlled sizes, compositions, and properties. However, direct growth of 1D nanostructure arrays through SLS processes remains in its infancy. Herein, this study shows that SLS processes are also suitable for the growth of nanorod arrays on the substrate. As a proof of concept, seedless growth of silica nanorod arrays on a variety of hydrophilic substrates such as pristine and oxide‐modified glass, metal sheets, Si wafers, and biaxially oriented polypropylene film are demonstrated. Also, the silica nanorod arrays can be used as a new platform for the fabrication of catalysts for photothermal CO 2 hydrogenation and the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol reactions. This work offers some fundamental insight into the SLS growth process and opens a new avenue for the mild preparation of functional 1D nanostructure arrays for various applications.

It is widely accepted that templated methods produce nanostructures whose morphologies are defined by preformed templates. Inspired by mutualism in biological systems, here we challenge this general impression by developing a mutual-template concept based on the simultaneous growth of template and target materials. This mutual-template strategy is not limited by preformed templates and enables the preparation of nanostructures with unusual morphologies. As a proof-of-concept, this strategy is demonstrated in the controlled growth of unusual silica nanocapsules with abundant morphologies, structures, and functionalities. We further demonstrate the postencapsulation of functional nanoparticles within the inner cavity of open-mouthed nanocapsules, providing a new model system of nanomotors for the fundamental understanding of motion mechanisms. This study paves the way for the preparation of nanostructures with unusual morphologies that are usually difficult to obtain, bringing new opportunities for applications in self-assembly, nanoreactors, nanomotors, and drug delivery.

A combined structural engineering strategy and thinning strategy were used to optimize nanoarray-based photothermal catalysts, showing a high CO2 conversion rate of 1780 mmol gCo-1 h-1.