Ehsan Muhammad Fahad, Khan Rabia, He Tao
CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China.
School of Natural Sciences (SNS), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan.
Chemphyschem. 2017 Nov 17;18(22):3203-3210. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201700404. Epub 2017 Jul 28.
Rapidly depleting fossil fuels and the related environmental issues are two alarming global concerns the world is facing today. To address these issues efficiently, future energy requirements need to be fulfilled by renewable and environmentally friendly resources. In this context, we report the ZnTe-modified TiO photocatalysts with varying amounts of ZnTe (1.96, 16, and 65 %) for the photoreduction of carbon dioxide into methane under visible light. The hydrothermally synthesized photocatalysts have been characterized by using various techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis for surface-area measurements. The photocatalyst with 1.96 % ZnTe shows the best results, which are attributed to its high BET specific surface area and the formation of a heterojunction at the interface, which can facilitate efficient charge transfer.
迅速枯竭的化石燃料以及相关的环境问题是当今世界面临的两个令人担忧的全球问题。为了有效解决这些问题，未来的能源需求需要由可再生且环保的资源来满足。在此背景下，我们报道了具有不同含量ZnTe（1.96%、16%和65%）的ZnTe修饰的TiO光催化剂，用于在可见光下将二氧化碳光还原为甲烷。通过多种技术对水热合成的光催化剂进行了表征，如X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜结合能量色散X射线光谱、透射电子显微镜、紫外/可见光谱、X射线光电子能谱以及用于表面积测量的布鲁诺尔-埃米特-泰勒（BET）分析。含1.96% ZnTe的光催化剂表现出最佳结果，这归因于其高BET比表面积以及在界面处形成的异质结，这可以促进有效的电荷转移。
