CO2 Photoreduction in the Liquid Phase over Pd-Supported on TiO2 Nanotube and Bismuth Titanate Photocatalysts

A comparison of two film-based photocatalysts-anodized titanium oxide nanotubes (T-NT) and bismuth titanate (BTO) decorated with palladium (Pd) nanoparticles-for the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the liquid phase is presented. CO2 photoreduction was performed by illuminating a CO2-saturated H2SO4 solution in the presence of Pd_T-NT and Pd_BTO. The formation of formic acid as at least one of the products is clearly evident from cyclic voltammetry and confirmed using chromatographic analysis. Pd_BTO shows approximately a 2-fold increase in the formic acid yield compared to Pd_T-NT. Preliminary Mott-Schottky analysis attributes this improvement to better charge separation in Pd_BTO. (C) 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3543567] All rights reserved.