Single-atom silver–manganese catalysts for photocatalytic CO2 reduction with H2O to CH4

Abstract This study focused on developing single-atom silver-manganese catalysts for converting the increasingly concerning CO 2 to highly demanded methane (CH 4 ) with renewable solar energy via artificial photosynthesis. The performances of the Ag supported manganese oxides (Ag/HMO) and the single-atom silver-manganese catalysts (Ag-HMO) were tested and compared under the same conditions. The activity of Ag-HMO reached as high as 0.61 mol mol −1 catalysts, which was 1.53 times higher than that of Ag/HMO. The single-atom Ag chains in Ag-HMO promoted the electron transfer from Ag to HMO, the adsorption of visible light and the activation of adsorbed CO 2 , thus enhancing the photocatalytic performances. This research will be beneficial for the practical application of solar energy with plasmonic photocatalyst.