Copper-Decorated Microsized Nanoporous Titanium Dioxide Photocatalysts for Carbon Dioxide Reduction by Water

A series of metallic copper (Cu)-decorated microsized, nanoporous titanium dioxide (TiO2) materials with different loadings of Cu were synthesized by in situ hydrolysis of Sn2+-grafted titanium glycolate microspheres in the presence of Cu2+ ions. The resulting materials showed good photocatalytic activity for CO2 reduction with water. In particular, the material prepared with an optimal loading of Cu (approximate to 0.4 wt%) exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity for the reduction of CO2 to hydrocarbon fuel (CH4), with an efficiency that was 21-fold higher than that of the most commonly studied and utilized commercial photocatalyst, Degussa P25 TiO2, under similar reaction conditions.