Size Effect of Cu Nanoparticles in Cu/g-C3N4 Composites on Properties for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Methanol.

The main goal of this work is to develop cheap photocatalysts for the efficient photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methanol with water. A series of composites of Cu/g-C3N4 were prepared via a solvothermal method. Copper nanoparticle (Cu NP) size in Cu/g-C3N4 can be easily controlled by adjusting the synthesis temperature. The Cu/g-C3N4 material with the proper size of Cu NP (CuCN-100) had the best photocatalytic property (675 µmol·g-1·h-1) in reducing the amount of CO2 to methanol at room temperature under normal pressure. The particle size of Cu NPs is the key factor to improve the catalytic activity and stability because of the improved transfer and separation of photogenerated charges with the small Cu NPs. Although the sample with large Cu NPs (CuCN-200) initially gave a better activity than that of CuCN-100 due to the formation of double heterojunction, its activity was thoroughly lost after two runs resulting from the continuous photocorrosion. This work provides a valuable insight for preparing efficient semiconductor-metal photocatalysts.

Synthesis and the effect of calcination temperature on the physical-chemical properties and photocatalytic activities of Ni,La codoped SrTiO3.

A series of highly vis-light active Ni,La-codoped SrTiO(3) photocatalysts were successfully synthesized with sol-gel process. The characterization results show that the calcination temperature has a strong influence on the physical-chemical properties of as-synthesized photocatalysts. The surface area and porosity, even the initial adsorption rate for malachite green (MG), decreased with increasing calcination temperature. To evaluate the photocatalytic activities, the photodegradation of a water contaminant (MG) was carried out under visible light irradiation. The as-synthesized photocatalysts exhibited a high vis-light activity, and a 100% degradation of MG was observed for the Ni,La-SrTiO(3)-x catalysts calcined at low temperature under visible light irradiation for 1h, during which only 7% and 15% of MG was degraded for self-degrade and commercially available photocatalyst Degussa P25, respectively. The high vis-light activity is a result of the best combination of many properties, such as the intensive visible light response, the large surface area and pore volume and the high initial adsorption rate for substrate.