Simple Preparation of Hierarchically Porous Ce/TiO₂/Graphitic Carbon Microspheres for the Reduction of CO₂with H₂O under Simulated Solar Irradiation

Abstract

Hierarchically porous Ce/TiO2/graphitic carbon microsphere composites (xCe/TiO2/GCM, where x = 0.2, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0 mmol·L–1) were prepared for the first time by using a simple colloidal crystal template and characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption and desorption, scanning electron microscopy, and ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectra. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of CO2 reduction by H2O under simulated solar irradiation was studied. The results showed that the Ce/TiO2/GCM composite material was characterized by large porosity, high concentration of metal compounds and graphitized carbon matrix, and the content of acetone solvent having a great impact on its form. In terms of the photocatalytic CO2 reaction, the CH4 and CO productions were 4.587 and 357.851 μmol·g–1, respectively. The 2Ce/TiO2/GCM photocatalyst gave the highest production rate for three products. Under simulated solar irradiation, the Ce/TiO2/GCM has excellent photocatalytic activity in the photoreduction of CO2 from H2O, which was related to the special composition and the Ce/TiO2/GCM structure.

Advances in Titanium Carbide (Ti3C2Tx) MXenes and Their Metal–Organic Framework (MOF)-Based Nanotextures for Solar Energy Applications: A Review

“…In turn, photocatalytic H 2 production and CO 2 reduction are emerging as promising advances in generating fuels and energy as they rely solely on naturally available solar energy to drive the reactions. − Not only that, abundantly available CO 2 and H 2 O function as low-cost feed stocks for the photocatalytic reactions. Hence, solar-driven CO 2 reduction and water splitting is an up-and-coming approach to generate renewable fuels due to their inexpensiveness and environmentally benign process. − …”

“…Hence, solar-driven CO 2 reduction and water splitting is an up-and-coming approach to generate renewable fuels due to their inexpensiveness and environmentally benign process. 8 − 10 …”

Improved in Situ Synthesis of Heterostructured 2D/2D BiOCl/g-C3N4 with Enhanced Dye Photodegradation under Visible-Light Illumination

“…Environmental pollution and energy crises are two main global issues that have been the hot topics in the past decades. 1 For the former, water pollution influences the drinking water safety of humans directly, and among the abundant pollutants, dyes such as Rhodamine B (RhB) deserve to be focused on due to its massive emission from industries and daily use, difficult degradation, and toxicity. 2 Due to these harmful properties, kinds of methods were applied for the innocent treatment of RhB, including chemical degradation, physical and chemical adsorption, photocatalysis, or the combinations of these methods.…”

“…Environmental pollution and energy crises are two main global issues that have been the hot topics in the past decades . For the former, water pollution influences the drinking water safety of humans directly, and among the abundant pollutants, dyes such as Rhodamine B (RhB) deserve to be focused on due to its massive emission from industries and daily use, difficult degradation, and toxicity .…”

“…Among the vast 2D materials, g-C 3 N 4 is focused on due to its dramatic properties such as easy preparation, metal-free composition, satisfied stability, and visible light response. g-C 3 N 4 has been utilized for kinds of visible-light photocatalytic tests, such as photodegradation, water splitting, CO 2 reduction, etc. ,, Heterostructured BiOCl/g-C 3 N 4 composites have been widely reported for photodegradation application. Liu et al prepared 2D BiOCl/g-C 3 N 4 layered composites for photodegradation of methyl orange, and the degradation efficiency reached 84.28% after 180 min of visible-light illumination .…”