Solar Energy, Vol.186, 166-174, 2019
Fe-N-TiO2/CPO-Cu-27 nanocomposite for superior CO2 photoreduction performance under visible light irradiation
In order to improve the CO2 photoreduction performance, CPO-Cu-27 with high CO2 adsorption capacity was chosen to combine with 0.12%Fe-0.5%N- codoped TiO(2)to form Fe-N-TiO2/CPO-Cu nanocomposite (denoted as Fe-N-Ti@xCPO). The composites were successfully synthesized and characterized by TGA, XRD, UV-Vis DRS, FE-SEM, EDS, TEM and BET analysis. The as-obtained Fe-N-Ti@xCPO composites exhibited good stability and enhanced performance for the CO2 photoreduction to form methane and methanol under visible light irradiation. The improved activity of composites could be assigned to their high CO2 adsorption capacity, the formation of heterojunction and the effective charge transfer, preventing the agglomeration of nanoparticles, as well as improving light absorption properties. The effect of CO2 partial pressure and H2O partial pressure was also investigated to determine the best conditions for achieving high photocatalytic performance. The optimum partial pressure of CO2 and H2O was found to be 0.758 bar and 0.096 bar, respectively. Under these optimum partial pressures, the methane and methanol rate, 48.23 mu mol g(cat)(-1).h(-1) and 2.19 mu mol g(cat)(-1).h(-1), respectively, was observed over best synthesized catalyst (Fe-N-Ti@50CPO sample). A novel kinetic model based on Sips isotherm theory was proposed and the kinetic constants were predicted. The reaction rate coefficient, CO2 and H2O affinity coefficients and heterogeneity factor were predicted 8.33 mu mol g(cat)(-1).h(-1), 234.31 bar(-1), 2091.1 bar(-1) and 1.67, respectively.