title: Highly efficient visible light photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to hydrocarbon fuels by Cu-nanoparticle decorated graphene oxide.
abstract: The production of renewable solar fuel through CO2 photoreduction, namely artificial photosynthesis, has gained tremendous attention in recent times due to the limited availability of fossil-fuel resources and global climate change caused by rising anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) decorated with copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs), hereafter referred to as Cu/GO, has been used to enhance photocatalytic CO2 reduction under visible-light. A rapid one-pot microwave process was used to prepare the Cu/GO hybrids with various Cu contents. The attributes of metallic copper nanoparticles (∼4-5 nm in size) in the GO hybrid are shown to significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity of GO, primarily through the suppression of electron-hole pair recombination, further reduction of GO's bandgap, and modification of its work function. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy studies indicate a charge transfer from GO to Cu. A strong interaction is observed between the metal content of the Cu/GO hybrids and the rates of formation and selectivity of the products. A factor of greater than 60 times enhancement in CO2 to fuel catalytic efficiency has been demonstrated using Cu/GO-2 (10 wt % Cu) compared with that using pristine GO.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica , Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Indrajit
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shown
authors.forename: Hsin-Cheng
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Yu-Chung
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chang-Hui
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Pradip Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Abhijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ganguly
authors.forename: Chen-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jan-Kai
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chih-I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Li-Chyong
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kuei-Hsien
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D012993:Solar Energy
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D010087:Oxides; D006108:Graphite
keywords: CO2 photoreduction; artificial photosynthesis; copper nanoparticle; graphene oxide; photocatalyst; solar fuel