Ordering Bimetallic Cu-Pd Catalysts onto Orderly Mesoporous SrTiO₃-Crystal Nanotubular Networks for Efficient Carbon Dioxide Photoreduction

Artificial photosynthesis of fuels has garnered significant attention, with SrTiO₃ emerging as a potential candidate for photocatalysis due to its exceptional physicochemical properties. However, selectively converting CO₂ into fuels with desired reaction products remains a grand challenge. Herein, we design an updated method via an aging strategy based on the electrospinning technique to synthesize a single-crystalline Al-doped SrTiO₃ nanotubular networks with self-assembled orderly mesopores, further modified by Cu−Pd alloy. It exhibits both high crystallinity and superior cross-linked mesoporous structures, effectively facilitating charge carrier transfer, photon utilization, and mass transfer, with a remarkable enhancement from 0.025 mmol h⁻¹ m⁻² to 1.090 mmol h⁻¹ m⁻² in the CO production rate. Meanwhile, the ordered arrangement of Cu and Pd atoms on the (111) surface can promote the rate-determining step (*CO₂ to *COOH), which is also responsible for its good activity. The presence of CuO in the reaction confers a significant advantage for CO desorption, leading to a remarkable CO selectivity of 95.54 %. This work highlights new insights into developing advanced heterogeneous photocatalysts.