Highly-selective CO2 conversion through single oxide CuO enhanced NiFe2O4 thermal catalytic activity

The solar-driven thermochemical CO 2 conversion is an effective way to achieve the mission of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality . However, finding a material with excellent thermal stability, oxygen exchange capacity, and CO selectivity is one of the most important challenges in the thermochemical CO 2 conversion approach. This study investigated the solar thermochemical CO 2 -splitting characteristics through the synergistic thermal catalytic activity of CuO and NiFe 2 O 4 and the effect of SiC photothermal properties. The thermochemical redox cycling performance of CO 2 conversion through thermally activated catalysts was experimentally investigated via thermogravimetric combined quantum chemical calculations to provide comprehensive insights into the physicochemical principles underlying the thermochemical catalytic CO 2 -splitting. The X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy spectrum detector technics were developed to gain detail on the crystal structure, surface morphology , and chemical composition changes in the reacting media. The newly synthesized composite material consisting of 25%CuO and 75%NiFe 2 O 4 (CNF-13) coated SiC porous skeleton resulted in higher CO 2 -splitting catalytic activity with an instantaneous CO production of 10.98mL ⋅ min ‐1 g CNF‐13 −1 and direct CO 2 -to-CO conversion rate of 33.9% at 1000–1200 K reaction temperature. The thermochemical CO 2 -splitting activity and redox stability of CNF-13@SiC was promoted by the photothermal properties of SiC support and the formation of Cu 2 O and Fe 3 O 4 new active material phases easing CO 2 reduction at low energy. This study provided experimental and theoretical findings that can be used as guidance for the fundamental research and application of CO 2 catalytic conversion into fuels through a solar thermochemical driven strategy.