Highly Active NaTaO3-Based Photocatalysts for CO2 Reduction to Form CO Using Water as the Electron Donor

Doped NaTaO3 (NaTaO3 : A, where A= Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, or La) has arisen as a highly active photocatalyst for CO2 reduction to simultaneously form CO, H-2, and O-2 using water as the electron donor when used with an Ag cocatalyst, under UV irradiation, and with 1 atm (0.1 MPa) of CO2. The ratio of the number of reacted electrons/holes was almost unity, indicating that water was consumed as the electron donor. A liquid-phase reduction method for loading of the Ag cocatalyst was superior to photodeposition and impregnation methods. The Ag cocatalystloaded NaTaO3: Ba was the most active photocatalyst in water with no required additives. The addition of bases, such as hydrogencarbonate, was effective to enhance the CO formation for Mg-, Ca-, Sr-, Ba-, and La-doped NaTaO3 photocatalysts with an Ag cocatalyst. Ca-and Sr-doped NaTaO3 photocatalysts showed especially high activity along with the Ba-doped photocatalyst in the aqueous NaHCO3 solution. The selectivity for the CO formation [CO/(CO+H-2)] on Ca-, Sr-, and Ba-doped NaTaO3 photocatalysts with Ag cocatalyst reached around 90%.