Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 from simulated flue gas with colored anatase

Abstract

Photocatalytic reduction with sunlight is an economical and promising advanced approach for reducing the excessive emissions of CO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels. Aimed at practical applications, a type of inexpensive colored anatase material was used to evaluate CO2 photoreduction performance on a platform with a continuous flow of gas mixtures (10 vol % CO2, 90% N2), which resembles realistic flue gas conditions. The results showed an enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with standard P25 and significant improvement over pristine anatase. Based on a series of characterization techniques, we propose that the oxygen vacancies and surface hydroxyl groups on colored anatase can reduce the bandgap and assist the binding of CO2 molecules. Our results showed that photoreduction of CO2 is feasible under practical conditions, and the efficiency could be improved through modification of catalysts.