%O cited By 27
%J Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology
%L scholars12887
%D 2020
%R 10.1002/jctb.6408
%N 8
%K Annealing; Carbon dioxide; Heterojunctions; Iron compounds; Irradiation; Light; Methanol; Photocatalytic activity; Titanium compounds, Hydrothermal treatments; Interfacial interaction; Morphological structures; Photocatalytic reduction; Post annealing treatment; Semiconductor composite; Visible-light irradiation; Visible-light photocatalysts, Zinc compounds, carbon dioxide; methanol; nitrate; titanium dioxide; zinc, Article; calcination temperature; chemical composition; chemical structure; comparative study; crystal structure; electron diffraction; energy dispersive X ray spectroscopy; high resolution transmission electron microscopy; light intensity; molecular stability; oxidation; oxidation reduction reaction; photocatalysis; reduction (chemistry); surface area; synthesis; ultraviolet radiation
%X BACKGROUND: The development of visible light photocatalysts for CO2 reduction into methanol is a challenge, as most of the reported photocatalysts can only work in a UV light environment. Slow kinetics and poor selectivity of CO2 towards methanol are currently two significant drawbacks limiting the practical application of CO2 reduction into methanol. RESULTS: A ZnFe2O4/TiO2 heterojunction with a ratio of unity was found to lead to the highest methanol yield of 693.31 μmol (g cat)�1 under a light intensity of 100 mW cm�2. This photocatalyst also possessed the highest BET surface area of 6.5211 m2 g�1 and better morphological structure, as compared with other ratios (1:2, 2:1 w/w). Interestingly, a loading of 1 g L�1 of ZnFe2O4/TiO2 (1:1) heterojunction photocatalyst in the pre-annealing treatment of ZnFe2O4 at 900 °C and post-annealing treatment of ZnFe2O4/TiO2 (1:1) composite at 500 °C revealed that there was an enhancement in the interfacial interaction, and subsequently an efficient photoreduction of CO2 into methanol. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates facile fabrication of p�n heterostructured phototcatalysts for reduction of CO2 with marked improvement in methanol yield under visible light irradiation. It provides a viable route for exploring the effects of composition, hydrothermal treatment, and pre-/post-annealing treatment of hybrid semiconductor composites used to scale up photocatalytic CO2 conversion in solar fuel-based devices. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
%P 2208-2221
%T Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methanol over ZnFe2O4/TiO2 (p�n) heterojunctions under visible light irradiation
%V 95
%I John Wiley and Sons Ltd
%A F. Iqbal
%A A. Mumtaz
%A S. Shahabuddin
%A M.I. Abd Mutalib
%A M.S. Shaharun
%A T.D. Nguyen
%A M.R. Khan
%A B. Abdullah