Report Highly efficient and highly selective CO2 reduction to CO driven by laser

Carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction is a possible way to solve the green-house effect. Conventional catalytic CO2 reduction faces some problems, such as high free energy barriers, limitation of cheap and effective catalysts. Here, we develop a highly efficient and high-ly selective CO2 reduction under mild conditions by laser reduction in liquid (LRL). A high CO yield of 12.3 mmol h-1 with near 100% selectivity and 13.3% energy conversion efficiency of laser to CO is achieved. In LRL, abundant active species are created immediately by laser-induced plasma in small bubbles along with transient extremely high temperature. Thermodynamically, CO2 reduction proceeds quickly with the interaction of active species at high tem-perature. Kinetically, the rapid quenching process inhibits reverse reaction and keeps products at initial stage. The synergy of thermo-dynamics and kinetics results in high yield and high selectivity. These findings provide an alternative approach for CO2 reduction under ambient conditions.