Highly efficient photocatalytic reduction of CO2 on surface-modified Ti-MCM-41 zeolite

Three dimensional microporous zeolites have attracted much attention in catalysis because of their large BET surface area and abundant pores. Herein, Ti-MCM-41 zeolites with different molar ratio of Si/Ti were synthesized, and the surface acidity and active sites were adjusted by the modification of basic-earth metal oxides, and noble metal nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity and selectivity were evaluated by the reduction of CO2 to CH4 and CO. The results indicated that the efficiency and selectivity of CO2 photoreduction to CH4 of Ti-MCM-41 zeolites were 93 ppm g−1 h−1 and 29% in the ratio Si/Ti = 10 under keeping the zeolite structure, and which is much higher than that of P25 with the value of 24 ppm g−1 h−1 and 23%. When the surface of Ti-MCM-41 zeolites was modified by different basic-earth metal oxides, the photo-reduction activity of CO2 to CH4 increased about 1.5 times with MgO modification, and the selectivity of CO2 to CH4 improved to 42%. Moreover, the photoactivity and selectivity enhanced to 8835 ppm g−1 h−1 and 93% when the surface was further decorated by Pt nanoparticles, while the selectivity of CO2 to CO reached 94% when Pd was loaded. Our work reveal reasonably that adjusting the acidity and active site of the microporous zeolites is a highly efficient way to improve the photocatalytic efficiency of CO2 reduction.