Photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to methanol by Cu2O/SiC nanocrystallite under visible light irradiation

The Cu 2 O/SiC photocatalyst was obtained from SiC nanoparticles (NPs) modified by Cu 2 O. Their photocatalytic activities for reducing CO 2 to CH 3 OH under visible light irradiation have been investigated. The results indicated that besides a small quantity of 6H-SiC, SiC NPs mainly consisted of 3C-SiC. The band gaps of SiC and Cu 2 O were estimated to be about 1.95 and 2.23 eV from UV-Vis spectra, respectively. The Cu 2 O modification can enhance the photocatalytic performance of SiC NPs, and the largest yields of methanol on SiC, Cu 2 O and Cu 2 O/SiC photocatalysts under visible light irradiation were 153, 104 and 191 μmol/g, respectively.