Cocatalyst Modification of AgTaO<sub>3</sub> Photocatalyst for Conversion of Carbon Dioxide with Water
Qiaoqi Guo, Jun Xu, Ying Luo, Yang Yang, Zheng Wang, Hong He
Abstract
The concept of photocatalytic CO2 conversion provides simultaneous solutions for global warming mitigation and fuel generation, while the lack of efficient photocatalysts restrains the development of photocatalytic CO2 conversion. AgTaO3 with the appropriate band position for CO2 reduction has been used as an active photocatalyst for one-step excitation overall water splitting. Therefore, if there are suitable reduction active sites on the surface, AgTaO3 can be expected to conduct photocatalytic reduction of CO2. Herein, we first discovered the photocatalytic activity of AgTaO3 for CO2 conversion with H2O. Through the optimization of synthesis conditions and surface modification with various cocatalysts by different approaches, AgTaO3 with Ag cocatalyst loaded by photodeposition showed the highest activity for CO production among those with Pt, Rh, or Cu cocatalysts. When combining core/shell structured metal nanoparticles and Cr2O3, AgTaO3 photocatalyst exhibited CH4 evolution activity in photocatalytic conversion CO2, indicating Cr2O3 species promoted the hydrogenation process of CO2 reduction. This study demonstrated that cocatalyst decoration controlled the conversion products and played an important role in the multielectron photoreduction of CO2.