Abstract
Improvement of solar-to-chemical energy conversion in photocatalytic CO2 reduction remains fundamentally constrained by insufficient utilization of solar energy, particularly low-energy photons. Here we report a nanoscale greenhouse structure (Bi@Fe2O3) that enables cascaded utilization of full solar spectrum. The Bi nanocore primarily absorbs low-energy photons, generating localized nanoheating via non-radiative heating through localized surface plasmon resonance effects and energetic hot electrons. Meanwhile, the oxygen-vacancy-rich loose Fe2O3 shell absorbs high-energy photons and serves as the catalytic bed, where injected hot electrons and confined heat synergistically promote CO2 activation and deep hydrogenation. Benefiting from the interplay between photochemical and photothermal effects, the system achieves a CH4 production rate of 273.81 μmol g–1 h–1 with 98.60% selectivity and an apparent quantum efficiency of 0.64% at 850 nm illumination without any external heating or sacrificial agents. This work paves a way for the efficient utilization of the entire solar spectrum.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Basic Science Center Program for Ordered Energy Conversion of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52488201) and the 2025 Annual Science and Technology Support Project of Daqingshan Laboratory (No. 2025KYPT0188). The authors also acknowledge the support from the Computing Center in Xi'an, as well as the Instrumental Analysis Center and HPC Platform of Xi’an Jiaotong University.
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X.K. designed research, carried out the experiments, analyzed the experimental data, and wrote the manuscript. M.J. performed DFT calculations and analyzed data. J.L. performed COMSOL Multiphysics simulations and analyzed data. C.L., X.D., F.W., and S.B. helped analyze data. Y.L. and L.G. helped revise the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.
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Kang, X., Jiang, M., Lv, J. et al. Nanoscale greenhouse effect for promoting solar-driven CO2 reduction with water to CH4. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70960-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70960-9
