Supercritical synthesis of platinum-modified titanium dioxide for solar fuel production from carbon dioxide

This paper investigates the properties of TiO2-based photocatalysts synthesised under supercritical conditions. Specifically, the characteristics of Pt dispersed on TiO2 catalysts obtained in supercritical CO2 are discussed and compared with those of commercial TiO2. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesised catalysts in the CO2 photoreduction reaction to produce solar fuel is tested. The main conclusion of the study is that photocatalysts with better or similar features, including high surface area, crystallisation degree, hydroxyl surface concentration, pore volume, absorbance in the visible range and methane production rate, to those of commercial TiO2 may be produced for the reduction of CO2 to fuel by synthesis in supercritical media. (C) 2017, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.