CO2 reduction by dielectric barrier discharge plasma in collaboration with Cu2−xSe/AlO(OH) catalyst

Global warming, driven by rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, is an environmental predicament confronted by humanity. Plasma catalytic decomposition of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide is a practical approach to mitigate this challenge, which can be a crucial step in carbon recycling. Metal selenides are promising candidates owing to their abundant reserves and outstanding electron transfer properties, making them highly active in chemical reactions. In this study, the morphology of AlO(OH) and the dispersion of Cu2−xSe were optimized by hydrothermal synthesis temperature. Specifically, the Cu2−xSe-Al-180 catalyst, prepared at a hydrothermal temperature of 180 °C, formed AlO(OH) with good crystallinity and a nanoscale thin-sheet structure, with Cu2−xSe uniformly distributed on the AlO(OH) support. The reaction of CO2 decomposition to CO production by integrating Cu2−xSe-Al-180 with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma led to a CO2 conversion of up to 28.07% at a specific input energy (SIE) of 58.07 kJ L−1. The excellent CO2 adsorption properties of AlO(OH) and Cu2Se reduce the activation energy barrier of the reaction, and Cu2Se further promotes the excited activation of CO2 in the plasma. These findings offer valuable insights for the development and design of catalysts in the field of plasma catalysis and highlight the potential of CuSe-based materials in CO2 reduction technologies.