Study on the Effect and Mechanism of Hydrothermal Modification on TiO2 Catalysts for CO2 Photo-Thermal Reduction
摘要
Photocatalysts like TiO2 can harness sunlight to reduce CO2 into valuable hydrocarbon fuels, representing a promising solution for carbon neutrality and sustainable energy challenges. Herein, the effect of hydrothermal modification on the CO2 photothermal reduction activity of TiO2 catalyst was studied, through photo-catalytic performance test, XRD, Raman, N2 adsorption, SEM, TEM, CO2-TPD, UV-vis DRS, and PL on commercial and modified TiO2. The results show that the hydrothermal-modified TiO2-NBS is a pure anatase phase, which has a narrower band gap than the mixed anatase and rutile structure of commercial TiO2-P25, and is more favorable to the excitation of photon-generated carriers. Meanwhile, the light emission intensity of anatase phase is weaker, which is conducive to electron-hole separation, promoting the reactant intermediate conversion. In addition, compared with TiO2-P25, TiO2-NBS has better morphology and specific surface pore characteristics, more adsorption sites for CO2, and stronger adsorption strength, which facilitate the adsorption and activation reactions of CO2. As a result, TiO2-NBS exhibits stronger CO2 photothermal reduction activity, with CO and CH4 production rates of 6.49 µmol g−1 h−1 and 1.56 µmol g−1 h−1, which are 2.58 times and 2.84 times those of TiO2-P25, respectively.
Graphical Abstract