Porous fixed-bed photoreactor for boosting C–C coupling in photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> reduction

Bai Shengjie; Qiu Haoran; Song Mengmeng; He Guiwei; Wang Feng; Liu Ya; Guo Liejin

doi:10.1016/j.esci.2022.06.006

Volume 2 Issue 4

Jul. 2022

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Article Navigation > eScience > 2022 > 2(4): 428-437

Bai Shengjie, Qiu Haoran, Song Mengmeng, He Guiwei, Wang Feng, Liu Ya, Guo Liejin. Porous fixed-bed photoreactor for boosting C–C coupling in photocatalytic CO2 reduction[J]. eScience, 2022, 2(4): 428-437. doi: 10.1016/j.esci.2022.06.006

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Bai Shengjie, Qiu Haoran, Song Mengmeng, He Guiwei, Wang Feng, Liu Ya, Guo Liejin. Porous fixed-bed photoreactor for boosting C–C coupling in photocatalytic CO₂ reduction[J]. eScience, 2022, 2(4): 428-437. doi: 10.1016/j.esci.2022.06.006

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Porous fixed-bed photoreactor for boosting C–C coupling in photocatalytic CO₂ reduction

doi: 10.1016/j.esci.2022.06.006

a.
International Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China

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Corresponding author: E-mail address: yaliu0112@mail.xjtu.edu.cn (Y. Liu); E-mail address: lj-guo@mail.xjtu.edu.cn (L. Guo)
Received Date: 2022-03-31
Revised Date: 2022-05-19
Accepted Date: 2022-06-27

Available Online: 2022-07-09

Abstract

Abstract

Solar-driven CO₂ conversion to chemical fuels in an aqueous solution is restricted not only by photocatalysts but also by mass transfer. Here, a regulatable three-phase interface on a porous fixed-bed is constructed for efficient C–C coupling in photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. The photocatalytic results show that ~90% selectivity towards C2+ products is obtained by a Cu/Cd_0.5Zn_0.5S photocatalyst, with a yield of 6.54 μmol/h (an irradiation area of 0.785 cm²), while only 0.94 μmol/h (an irradiation area of 19.625 cm²) is achieved with a commonly used suspension photocatalytic reactor. We find that under the same CO₂ feed rate, the local CO₂ concentration in this porous fixed-bed photoreactor is obviously higher than in the suspension photoreactor. The larger local CO₂ coverage derived from a higher CO₂ supply and aggregation enhances the C–C coupling, thereby generating more C2+. Even an observable three-phase interface on the porous fixed-bed can be regulated by adjusting the CO₂ supply, for which the optimal gas inlet rate is 5–10 sccm.
- Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction,
- Cu/Cd_0.5Zn_0.5S,
- Porous fixed-bed,
- Three-phase interface,
- C2+ chemical fuel

● A three-phase interface was formed and regulated by adjusting CO₂ feed, while a K⁺ tracer experiment was used to observe it.
● Local CO₂ concentration from the three-phase interface enhanced *CO–COH coupling, with ~90% selectivity to C2+ products.
● A homemade porous fixed-bed photoreactor for overcoming the mass transfer bottleneck was designed and constructed.

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