Photoreduction of Carbon Dioxide Over NaNbO₃ Nanostructured Photocatalysts

摘要

Abstract NaNbO₃ had been successfully developed as a new photocatalyst for CO₂ reduction. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis). The DFT calculations revealed that the top of VB consisted of the hybridized O 2p orbital, while the bottom of CB was constructed by Nb 3d orbital, respectively. In addition, the photocatalytic activities of the NaNbO₃ samples for reduction of CO₂ into methanol under UV light irradiation were investigated systematically. Compared with the bulk NaNbO₃ prepared by a solid state reaction method, the present NaNbO₃ nanowires exhibited a much higher photocatalytic activity for CH₄ production. This is the first example that CO₂ conversion into CH₄ proceeded on the semiconductor nanowire photocatalyst.