%I MDPI
%A S. Goyal
%A M.S. Shaharun
%A C.F. Kait
%A B. Abdullah
%A M. Ameen
%V 8
%T Photoreduction of carbon dioxide to methanol over copper based zeolitic imidazolate framework-8: A new generation photocatalyst
%N 12
%R 10.3390/catal8120581
%D 2018
%L scholars9529
%J Catalysts
%O cited By 37
%X The efficient reduction of CO2 into valuable products such as methanol, over metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) based catalyst, has received much attention. The photocatalytic reduction is considered the most economical method due to the utilization of solar energy. In this study, Copper (II)/Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (Cu/ZIF-8) catalysts were synthesized via a hydrothermal method for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methanol. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The host ZIF-8, treated with 2 mmol copper prepared in 2M ammonium hydroxide solution showed the highest photocatalytic activity. The crystal structures of ZIF-8 and 2Cu/ZIF-8N2 catalysts were observed as cubic and orthorhombic, respectively and the XPS analysis confirmed the deposition of Cu (II) ions over ZIF-8 surface among all the prepared catalysts. The orthorhombic structure, nano-sized crystals, morphology and Cu loading of the 2Cu/ZIF-8N2 catalyst were the core factors to influence the photocatalytic activity. The yield of Methanol was found to be 35.82 µmol/L·g after 6 h of irradiations on 2Cu/ZIF-8N2 catalyst in the wavelength range between 530�580 nm. The copper-based ZIF-8 catalyst has proven as an alternative approach for the economical photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CH3OH. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.