Synergistic Effect of N and Ni2+ on Nanotitania in Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2

Nitrogen and nickel codoped nanotitania (N-Ni/TiO2) photocatalysts for producing methanol by photocatalytic reduction of CO2 were prepared by an improved sol-gol method. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, HRTEM, DES, FTIR, TG-DSC, and UV-Vis, respectively. The experimental results indicated that nano-N-Ni/TiO2 had better properties than the pure nanotitania (TiO2), N doped titania (N/TiO2), and Ni2+ doped titania (Ni/TiO2), considering their performance of photoresponse and photocatalytic reduction of CO2. The methanol yield could reach 482.0 mu mol/g-cat under optimal conditions. Additionally, the synergetic effect of N and Ni2+ on nano-TiO2 in photocatalytic reduction of CO2 was explained, and the mechanism of photocatalytic reduction CO2 on N-Ni/TiO2 catalyst was proposed. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000311. (C) 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.