Synthesis and Application of g-C3N4/Nb2O5 in Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 for Artificial Photosynthesis of Hydrocarbons.
Artificial photosynthesis, solar fuels, CO2 reduction, g-C3N4/Nb2O5.
The photocatalytic conversion of CO2 into solar fuels, an artificial photosynthesis, is a promising solution to resolve the energy crises and the global warming issues. The overall efficiency of the CO2 photo-reduction is strongly dependent on the selection of a photocatalyst with suitable reduction and oxidation potentials for the reaction, besides having a structural configuration that guarantees an efficient conversion of the photonic energy incident on the particles into charge carriers available for the reaction from the separation of the photogenerated charges. This work proposes the synthesis of a composite by the heterojunction of g-C3N4/Nb2O5 by a facile solvotermal method followed by a calcination process. The obtained material will be analyzed by FE-SEM/EDS, XRD, FTIR, XRF, and BET for the investigation of the structural, morphological, textural properties and chemical composition, also the optical absorption properties will be evaluated by UV/vis-DRS. The composite will be used as photocatalyst for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into hydrocarbons fuels in a slurry photoreactor. The reaction products will be analyzed by GC-FID.