Efficient CO2 Conversion through a Novel Dual-Fiber Reactor System

Carbon dioxide (CO2) can be converted to valuable organic chemicals using light irradiation and photocatalysis. Today, light-energy loss, poor conversion efficiency, and low quantum efficiency (QE) hamper the application of photocatalytic CO2 reduction. To overcome these drawbacks, we developed an efficient photocatalytic reactor platform for producing formic acid (HCOOH) by coating an iron-based metal–organic framework (Fe-MOF) onto side-emitting polymeric optical fibers (POFs) and using hollow-fiber membranes (HFMs) to deliver bubble-free CO2. The photocatalyst, Fe-MOF with amine-group (−NH2) decoration, provided exceptional dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) absorption. The dual-fiber system gave a CO2-to-HCOOH conversion rate of 116 ± 1.2 mM h–1 g–1, which is ≥18-fold higher than the rates in photocatalytic slurry systems. The 12% QE obtained using the POF was 18-fold greater than the QE obtained by a photocatalytic slurry. The conversion efficiency and product selectivity of CO2-to-HCOOH were up to 22 and 99%, respectively. Due to the dual efficiencies of bubble-free CO2 delivery and the high QE achieved using the POF platform, the dual-fiber system had energy consumption of only 0.60 ± 0.05 kWh mol–1, 3000-fold better than photocatalysis using slurry-based systems. This innovative dual-fiber design enables efficient CO2 valorization without the use of platinum group metals or rare earth elements.