Novel and simple process for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with ternary Bi2O3-graphene-ZnO nanocomposite

Here, we report the new ternary composite Bi2O3-G-ZnO using ultrasonic techniques as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and UV-Visible diffuse-reflectance spectra (DRS) analyses. The prepared photocatalysts were tested for the CO2 photocatalytic reduction in a reactor, and the main detected reaction product is CH3OH. The optimum loading graphene of 8% exhibited the maximum photoactivity, achieving a total CH3OH yield of 7.250 A mu mol g(-1) h(-1) after 48 h. This excellent photoreduction activity is due to the positive synergistic relation between the Bi2O3 and the graphene components in our heterogeneous system. The present work provides a novel application regarding the improvement of nanoscale Bi2O3-G-ZnO materials for photocatalytic applications.