Silver-modified WO3 stores charges to speed up CO2 photoreduction with water
Feb 24th 2026
A bioinspired Ag/WO3 material acts as a light-driven charge reservoir via reversible W6+/W5+ transitions and, when paired with catalysts like cobalt phthalocyanine, greatly raises CO production from CO2 and H2O.
- Ag/WO3 functions as a photoactive charge reservoir through reversible W6+/W5+ valence oscillation under irradiation.
- The design was inspired by plastoquinone, which temporarily stores electrons in natural photosynthesis.
- Coupling Ag/WO3 to different active components consistently improves their CO2 conversion, showing the strategy is broadly applicable.
- A CoPc/Ag/WO3 composite produced about 1.5 mmol CO per gram of CoPc per hour, roughly 100 times the rate of pure CoPc.
- Mechanistic data indicate electrons stored in Ag/WO3 scavenge photogenerated holes from CoPc, keeping a high electron density at CO2 reduction sites.
- The work establishes a general, bioinspired approach to boost solar-driven conversion of CO2 and H2O into fuels and chemicals.