Noble metal modified TiO2: selective photoreduction of CO2 to hydrocarbons

CO2 photoreduction is an indispensable tool to generate carbon containing fuel. A series of noble metal modified TiO2 were prepared using photodeposition method, and their photocatalytic activities were evaluated towards photocatalytic reduction of CO2 under gas phase conditions using water vapor as electron donor and UV-A light as energy source. TiO2 solely produce CO. The addition of noble metals to TiO2 via photodeposition method significantly increased the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with change in product selectivity towards methane under identical conditions. Further combinations of two different noble metals were simultaneously deposited to develop bimetal/TiO2. The bimetal/TiO2 further enhances the methane yield with considerable amount of ethane. Ag1%Pd1%/TiO2 has been proven as best" catalyst among all catalyst and yields maximum methane. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.