Hydrogen-treated mesoporous WO3 as a reducing agent of CO2 to fuels (CH4 and CH3OH) with enhanced photothermal catalytic performance

• A series of mesoporous WO3 catalysts were facilely synthesized by a hydrothermal method using mesoporous silica KIT-6 as a hard template and silicotungstic acid as a precursor. All the catalysts possess a well-defined mesoporous structure with interconnected networks. Oxygen-deficient mesoporous WO3 (m-WO3-x) was prepared by hydrogenation treatment at different temperatures with improved photothermal coupling performance. Moreover, the as-prepared catalysts exhibit selectivity toward CH4 evolution under visible-light only irradiation. Then, under photothermal conditions, the results show that the concentration of oxygen vacancies of m-WO3 has a great influence on its catalytic performance. The CH4 evolution rate reached 25.77 mu mol g (1), which is about 22 times that of mesoporous WO3 (1.17 mu mol g(-1)) under the same conditions, and a moderate concentration of oxygen vacancies is necessary to achieve selectivity for the conversion of CO2 into CH4. A mechanism of the catalytic reduction of CO2 over m-WO3-x is proposed, in which the initial oxygen vacancies function as an excellent electron transfer mediator and decompose CO2 into its elements (C/CO). These findings may further broaden the scope for photothermal chemical conversion and provide new insights into the oxygen nonstoichiometry strategy for the development of CO2 reduction.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Metallurgi och metalliska material (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Metallurgy and Metallic Materials (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)