Visible-Light Photoreduction of CO2 to CH4 over ZnTe-Modified TiO2 Coral-Like Nanostructures

Muhammad Fahad Ehsan; Rabia Khan; Tao He

doi:10.1002/cphc.201700404

Visible-Light Photoreduction of CO₂ to CH₄ over ZnTe-Modified TiO₂ Coral-Like Nanostructures

Chemphyschem. 2017 Nov 17;18(22):3203-3210. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201700404. Epub 2017 Jul 28.

Authors

Muhammad Fahad Ehsan^{1

2

3}, Rabia Khan², Tao He^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China.
² School of Natural Sciences (SNS), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan.
³ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.

PMID: 28586176
DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201700404

Abstract

Rapidly depleting fossil fuels and the related environmental issues are two alarming global concerns the world is facing today. To address these issues efficiently, future energy requirements need to be fulfilled by renewable and environmentally friendly resources. In this context, we report the ZnTe-modified TiO₂ photocatalysts with varying amounts of ZnTe (1.96, 16, and 65 %) for the photoreduction of carbon dioxide into methane under visible light. The hydrothermally synthesized photocatalysts have been characterized by using various techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis for surface-area measurements. The photocatalyst with 1.96 % ZnTe shows the best results, which are attributed to its high BET specific surface area and the formation of a heterojunction at the interface, which can facilitate efficient charge transfer.

Keywords: ZnTe; carbon dioxide fixation; heterojunctions; photoreduction; titania.