Preparation of Pd/TiO2 nanowires for the photoreduction of CO2 into renewable hydrocarbon fuels

Abstract

Abstract In this study, various Pd-loaded TiO2 nanowire (Pd/TiO2 NW) catalysts were prepared using the hydrothermal method, and their photocatalytic activity toward the photoreduction of CO2 into methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) was evaluated. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence analysis. The addition of Pd on TiO2 NWs can improve the production yield of CO2 photoreduction to CH4 and CO. The 0.5 wt% Pd/TiO2 NWs showed optimal CO and CH4 yields of 50.4 and 26.7 µmol/g, respectively. Moreover, the 0.5 wt% Pd/TiO2 NWs could be used repeatedly with only a small loss of photocatalytic activity noted after 30 days. Furthermore, a mechanism for the photoreduction of CO2 was proposed. Therefore, Pd/TiO2 NWs are an efficient photocatalyst for the reduction of CO2 to CH4 and CO.