Photothermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol over a CoO/Co/TiO2 catalyst in aqueous media under atmospheric pressure

Catalytic conversion of CO 2 into methanol is of particular interest as it does not only provide valuable methanol, but also utilize the waste CO 2 . In the present work, a CoO/Co/TiO 2 catalyst was developed and utilized in catalyzing CO 2 to methanol under photothermal conditions. From the results of characterization, the supported Co nanoparticles (NPs) were composed of Co 0 in the bulk, CoO film formed from air oxidation on the surface, and Co 0 at Co NPs-TiO 2 interfaces. This structure provided the possibility for a Z scheme photothermal catalytic system, which revealed a high activity for methanol formation in aqueous media under atmosphere pressure. It was proposed that the light excited electrons from the valence band (VB) of TiO 2 , and the excited electrons could enhance the Co 0 catalytic activity under thermal conditions. The present approach will offer a new strategy to design Co based Z scheme catalysts and further improve the conversion efficiency from CO 2 to fuels.