Copper Deposited on Reduced Titania as Catalyst for the Production of CH₄ from Sunlight and Air
Shahzad Ali, Dongyun Kim, Eunhee Gong, Junho Lee, Abdul Razzaq, Juying Lei, Ki-Jeong Kim, Su-Il In, William A. Goddard III
Abstract
Atmospheric CO₂ and H₂O adsorbed on the photocatalyst surface undergo sunlight-assisted conversion to solar products that bridge the gaps between artificial and natural photosynthesis. Herein, we report a Lewis acid-base interaction derived photocatalyst, Cu deposited on reduced titania, that harvests CO₂ and H₂O from the air, transforming them to CH₄. Photocatalyst surface studies confirm that coordinately unsaturated Cu atoms and oxygen vacancies are formed that facilitate CO₂ and H₂O adsorption. The mechanistic studies combined with tandem secondary ion mass spectroscopy and isotopic labelling, confirm the CH₄ origin from atmosphere-adsorbed CO₂ and H₂O. The contributing factors to photocatalyst instability are explored. We expect that this study will have impact on the widespread application and economic viability of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction.
Group Members
Ali, S., Kim, D., Gong, E., Lee, J., Razzaq, A., Lei, J., Kim, K., In, S., & III, W. A. G. (2024). Copper Deposited on Reduced Titania as Catalyst for the Production of CH₄ from Sunlight and Air. *ChemCatChem*, *16*(18), e202301485. https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202301485