CO2 photoreduction in the liquid phase over Pd-supported on TiO2 nanotube and bismuth titanate photocatalysts

Abstract

A comparison of two film-based photocatalysts-anodized titanium oxide nanotubes (T-NT) and bismuth titanate (BTO) decorated with palladium (Pd) nanoparticles-for the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2) in the liquid phase is presented. CO2 photoreduction was performed by illuminating a CO2-saturated H2SO 4 solution in the presence of Pd-T-NT and Pd-BTO. The formation of formic acid as at least one of the products is clearly evident from cyclic voltammetry and confirmed using chromatographic analysis. Pd-BTO shows approximately a 2-fold increase in the formic acid yield compared to Pd-T-NT. Preliminary Mott-Schottky analysis attributes this improvement to better charge separation in Pd-BTO. © 2011 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.