Prepared Pd/<scp>MgO</scp>/<scp>BiVO<sub>4</sub></scp> composite for photoreduction of <scp>CO<sub>2</sub></scp> to <scp>CH<sub>4</sub></scp>
Zhen Zhu, Yu‐Teng Hwang, Hao‐Chun Liang, Ren‐Jang Wu
Abstract
Abstract In this study, several Pd/MgO/BiVO 4 nanocomposites were prepared using the hydrothermal method and their effective photocatalyst activity for the photoreduction of CO 2 to CH 4 was investigated. The microstructure and photocatalytic behavior of the prepared photocatalysts were studied through X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, tunneling electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. CH 4 yields of 5.9 and 9.4 μmol g −1 hr −1 were obtained using BiVO 4 and 25% MgO/BiVO 4 nanocomposites, respectively. The highest production rate of CH 4 was measured as 12.8 μmol g −1 hr −1 on overloading 0.3% Pd on 25% MgO/BiVO 4 . Pd/MgO/BiVO 4 exhibited excellent CO 2 photoreduction stability with negligible loss after five consecutive cycles. Finally, a possible mechanism of CO 2 photoreduction using Pd/MgO/BiVO 4 was proposed for understanding the synergistic effects. The results of the experiment revealed that Pd/MgO/BiVO 4 can be a promising photocatalyst in solar energy conversion and storage application and can achieve excellent CO 2 photoreduction performance.