Photoelectrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Paraffin Using p-n Heterojunctions

Summary: Nowadays, photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) reduction of CO2 represents a very promising solution for storing solar energy in value-added chemicals, but so far it has been hampered by the lack of highly efficient catalyst of photocathode. Enlightened by the Calvin cycle of plants, here we show th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jinyuan Wang, Yongji Guan, Xiaogang Yu, Youzhi Cao, Jiazang Chen, Yilin Wang, Bin Hu, Huanwang Jing
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020-01-01
Series:iScience
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004219305139
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Summary:Summary: Nowadays, photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) reduction of CO2 represents a very promising solution for storing solar energy in value-added chemicals, but so far it has been hampered by the lack of highly efficient catalyst of photocathode. Enlightened by the Calvin cycle of plants, here we show that a series of three-dimensional C/N-doped heterojunctions of Znx:Coy@Cu are successfully fabricated and applied as photocathodes in the PEC reduction of CO2 to generate paraffin product. These materials integrate semiconductors of p-type Co3O4 and n-type ZnO on Cu foam to construct fine heterojunctions with multiple active sites, which result in excellent C-C coupling control in reduction of CO2. The best catalyst of Zn0.2:Co1@Cu yields paraffin at a rate of 325 μg·h−1 under −0.4 V versus saturated calomel electrode without H2 release. The apparent quantum efficiency of PEC cell is up to 1.95%. : Catalysis; Electrochemical Materials Science; Materials Design Subject Areas: Catalysis, Electrochemical Materials Science, Materials Design
ISSN:2589-0042