Enhanced photoreduction of CO2 into methanol by facet-dependent Cu2O/reduce graphene oxide

Abstract The preparation of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) with different morphologies and oxidation states decorating with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and their comparison in the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 are reported in the present work. The rhombic dodecahedra Cu2O/rGO exhibits the highest methanol yield (355.3 μmol g−1cat) which is ca. 4.1–80.8 times superior to cubic, octahedral Cu2O/rGO and CuO/rGO after 20 h of visible light illumination. The enhanced performance may be due to the unique rhombic dodecahedra structure with less band bending of conduction and valence bands which decrease the energy barrier for the transfer of photogenerated electrons to the surface. The incorporation of rGO should assist the transfer of photogenerated electrons from conduction band of Cu2O. The positively charged dodecahedra Cu2O/rGO may also increase the adsorption of carbonate anions from dissolution of CO2 gas. This work provides a facile solution-chemistry route to synthesize rGO incorporated crystal Cu2O with various facets as visible-light-active photocatalysts for CO2 utilization by using natural sunlight.

[1]  R. Schomäcker,et al.  Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to hydrocarbons by using photodeposited Pt nanoparticles on carbon-doped titania , 2019, Catalysis Today.

[2]  Nan Zhang,et al.  The endeavour to advance graphene–semiconductor composite-based photocatalysis , 2016 .

[3]  Jiaguo Yu,et al.  New Way for CO2 Reduction under Visible Light by a Combination of a Cu Electrode and Semiconductor Thin Film: Cu2O Conduction Type and Morphology Effect , 2014 .

[4]  Hongtao Yu,et al.  Constructing desired interfacial energy band alignment of Z-scheme TiO2-Pd-Cu2O hybrid by controlling the contact facet for improved photocatalytic performance , 2019, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

[5]  N. Kim,et al.  Green synthesis of glucose-reduced graphene oxide supported Ag-Cu2O nanocomposites for the enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity , 2018 .

[6]  Michael H. Huang,et al.  Facet-dependent catalytic activity of Cu2O nanocrystals in the one-pot synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles by multicomponent click reactions. , 2013, Chemistry.

[7]  R. Luque,et al.  Stress-Transfer-Induced In Situ Formation of Ultrathin Nickel Phosphide Nanosheets for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution. , 2018, Angewandte Chemie.

[8]  T. Peng,et al.  Recent Advances in Heterogeneous Photocatalytic CO2 Conversion to Solar Fuels , 2016 .

[9]  Junyao Lu,et al.  Facet-Dependent Cuprous Oxide Nanocrystals Decorated with Graphene as Durable Photocatalysts under Visible Light , 2018, Nanomaterials.

[10]  H. García,et al.  Photoassisted CO2 Conversion to Fuels , 2018, ChemCatChem.

[11]  Jer‐Shing Huang,et al.  Facet-dependent optical properties of polyhedral Au-Cu₂O core-shell nanocrystals. , 2014, Nanoscale.

[12]  Nan Zhang,et al.  Artificial photosynthesis over graphene-semiconductor composites. Are we getting better? , 2014, Chemical Society reviews.

[13]  K. Wei,et al.  Interfacial charge carrier dynamics of cuprous oxide-reduced graphene oxide (Cu2O-rGO) nanoheterostructures and their related visible-light-driven photocatalysis , 2017 .

[14]  N. Lewis,et al.  820 mV open-circuit voltages from Cu2O/CH3CN junctions , 2011 .

[15]  Xiubing Huang,et al.  Progress in catalyst exploration for heterogeneous CO2 reduction and utilization: a critical review , 2017 .

[16]  H. Syu,et al.  High visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of C,N-codoped mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles prepared via an ionic-liquid-template approach , 2013 .

[17]  W. Han,et al.  Synthesis of SPR Au/BiVO4 quantum dot/rutile-TiO2 nanorod array composites as efficient visible-light photocatalysts to convert CO2 and mechanism insight , 2019, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

[18]  Shengtian Yang,et al.  Highly visible-light-responsive Cu2O/rGO decorated with Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles as a magnetically recyclable photocatalyst , 2018, Nanotechnology.

[19]  Rui‐tang Guo,et al.  Eu-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with enhanced activity for CO2 phpotcatalytic reduction , 2018, Journal of CO2 Utilization.

[20]  Yun Zhang,et al.  High rate CO2 photoreduction using flame annealed TiO2 nanotubes , 2019, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

[21]  Guixiang Ma,et al.  Nitrogen-Doped Hollow Carbon Nanoparticles with Excellent Oxygen Reduction Performances and Their Electrocatalytic Kinetics , 2011 .

[22]  Yunsong Yang,et al.  Adsorption of nicotine in aqueous solution by a defective graphene oxide. , 2018, The Science of the total environment.

[23]  Yu-Chen Yang,et al.  Synthesis of Cu2O nanocrystals from cubic to rhombic dodecahedral structures and their comparative photocatalytic activity. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[24]  Zhongbiao Wu,et al.  Probing ring-opening pathways for efficient photocatalytic toluene decomposition , 2019, Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

[25]  Kai Jiang,et al.  Controllable synthesis of Cu2O decorated WO3 nanosheets with dominant (0 0 1) facets for photocatalytic CO2 reduction under visible-light irradiation , 2019, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

[26]  Muhammad Tahir,et al.  A critical review on TiO2 based photocatalytic CO2 reduction system: Strategies to improve efficiency , 2018, Journal of CO2 Utilization.

[27]  M. Zanoni,et al.  Photoelectrocatalytic performance of nanostructured p-n junction NtTiO2/NsCuO electrode in the selective conversion of CO2 to methanol at low bias potentials , 2018 .

[28]  Nikolaos I. Tsongidis,et al.  Transportation and solar-aided utilization of CO2: Technoeconomic analysis of spanning routes of CO2 conversion to solar fuels , 2019, Journal of CO2 Utilization.

[29]  George C. Schatz,et al.  Plasmonic Properties of Copper Nanoparticles Fabricated by Nanosphere Lithography , 2007 .

[30]  Jianjun Wei,et al.  Photoelectrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to methanol at cuprous oxide foam cathode , 2017 .

[31]  Qian Li,et al.  Insight into the enhanced CO2 photocatalytic reduction performance over hollow-structured Bi-decorated g-C3N4 nanohybrid under visible-light irradiation , 2018, Journal of CO2 Utilization.

[32]  N. Zhang,et al.  Waltzing with the Versatile Platform of Graphene to Synthesize Composite Photocatalysts. , 2015, Chemical reviews.

[33]  Lan Yuan,et al.  Photocatalytic conversion of CO2 into value-added and renewable fuels , 2015 .

[34]  H. Yoshida,et al.  Silver-loaded sodium titanate photocatalysts for selective reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide with water , 2019, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

[35]  Junwang Tang,et al.  Controllable proton and CO2 photoreduction over Cu2O with various morphologies , 2013 .

[36]  Abdullah M. Asiri,et al.  Photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic performance of sonochemically synthesized Cu2O@TiO2 heterojunction nanocomposites. , 2019, Ultrasonics sonochemistry.

[37]  Nan Zhang,et al.  Structural diversity of graphene materials and their multifarious roles in heterogeneous photocatalysis , 2016 .

[38]  Jiaxiong Liu,et al.  Photo-thermal synergistically catalytic conversion of glycerol and carbon dioxide to glycerol carbonate over Au/ZnWO4-ZnO catalysts , 2019, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

[39]  Marc Robert,et al.  Visible-light-driven methane formation from CO2 with a molecular iron catalyst , 2017, Nature.

[40]  J. Ahola,et al.  Capturing CO2 from air: Technical performance and process control improvement , 2019, Journal of CO2 Utilization.

[41]  I. Tseng,et al.  Photocatalytic conversion of gas phase carbon dioxide by graphitic carbon nitride decorated with cuprous oxide with various morphologies , 2018, Journal of CO2 Utilization.

[42]  Q. Zhong,et al.  Construction of octahedral BiFeWOx encapsulated in hierarchical In2S3 core@shell heterostructure for visible-light-driven CO2 reduction , 2019, Journal of CO2 Utilization.

[43]  Jianfeng Chen,et al.  Preparation and characterizations of Cu2O/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites with high photo-catalytic performances , 2014 .

[44]  Jinwoo Lee,et al.  Cu-Pd alloy nanoparticles as highly selective catalysts for efficient electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO , 2019, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

[45]  Kimfung Li,et al.  Cu2O/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites for the Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 , 2014, ChemSusChem.

[46]  Ahmad Baroutaji,et al.  Outlook of carbon capture technology and challenges. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[47]  M. Zanoni,et al.  Contribution of thin films of ZrO2 on TiO2 nanotubes electrodes applied in the photoelectrocatalytic CO2 conversion , 2018 .

[48]  Jiarui Li,et al.  Synergistic integration of Bi metal and phosphate defects on hexagonal and monoclinic BiPO4: Enhanced photocatalysis and reaction mechanism , 2019, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

[49]  N. Zhang,et al.  Graphene and its derivatives as versatile templates for materials synthesis and functional applications. , 2017, Nanoscale.

[50]  Yi‐Jun Xu,et al.  Photocatalytic conversion of CO2 over graphene-based composites: current status and future perspective. , 2016, Nanoscale horizons.

[51]  Min Xu,et al.  Porous hypercrosslinked polymer-TiO2-graphene composite photocatalysts for visible-light-driven CO2 conversion , 2019, Nature Communications.

[52]  Yongsheng Zhu,et al.  Layered nanojunctions for hydrogen-evolution catalysis. , 2013, Angewandte Chemie.