Reduction of carbon dioxide with water under concentrated sunlight using photocatalyst combined with Fe-based catalyst

The reduction of CO₂ with water into valuable organic compounds under concentrated sunlight was investigated for the first time over a hybrid catalyst, in which a Pt-loaded K₂Ti₆O₁₃ photocatalyst was combined with a Fe-based catalyst supported on a dealuminated Y-type zeolite (Fe-Cu-K/DAY). In this reaction system, the Pt/K₂Ti₆O₁₃ catalyst decomposes water to produce H₂ and the Fe-Cu-K/DAY catalyst reduces CO₂ with the resulting H₂ into organic compounds. When only the Pt/K₂Ti₆O₁₃ photocatalyst was used, organic compounds such as CH₄, HCOOH, and HCHO were formed together with H₂, indicating that CO₂ can also be directly reduced over Pt/K₂Ti₆O₁₃. On the contrary, when the hybrid catalyst was used, CH₃OH and C₂H₅OH were produced in addition to the above products, depending on the reaction temperature and catalyst composition. The reaction temperature significantly increased by concentrating the solar irradiation, reaching 600 K and increasing the product yields. It is suggested that such a high reaction temperature facilitates both the photoreduction and hydrogenation of CO₂ over Pt/K₂Ti₆O₁₃ and Fe-Cu-K/DAY, respectively.