Visible light assisted photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methanol using Fe3O4@N-C/Cu2O nanostructure photocatalyst

SK Movahed, A Najinasab, R Nikbakht, M Dabiri* (2020) Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry 401, 112763

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2020.112763

Abstract

Copper oxide (I) nanoparticles decorated on nitrogen-doped carbon (N-C) rod-shaped core-shell nanostructure have been successfully prepared. The nanostructures have been developed by the reduction of Cu²⁺ with ascorbic acid over Fe₃O₄@N-C rod-shaped core-shell nanostructure followed by aerobic oxidation of copper nanoparticles. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of Fe₃O₄@N-C/Cu₂O nanostructure was evaluated in selective CO2 reduction and methanol was observed as the main product over Fe₃O₄@N-C/Cu₂O. The photocatalytic activity of Fe₃O₄@N-C/Cu₂O for CO₂ reduction was found to be about four times higher than that of Fe₃O₄Cu₂O photocatalyst, which might be due to the enhancement of visible light absorption and facilitating the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.