Elemental Boron for Efficient Carbon Dioxide Reduction under Light Irradiation

The photoreduction of CO2 is attractive for the production of renewable fuels and the mitigation of global warming. Herein, we report an efficient method for CO2 reduction over elemental boron catalysts in the presence of only water and light irradiation through a photothermocatalytic process. Owing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2017-05, Vol.56 (20), p.5570-5574
Main Authors: Liu, Guigao, Meng, Xianguang, Zhang, Huabin, Zhao, Guixia, Pang, Hong, Wang, Tao, Li, Peng, Kako, Tetsuya, Ye, Jinhua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Boron
boron materials
Boron oxides
Carbon dioxide
Catalysts
Climate change
CO2 photoreduction
Electromagnetic absorption
energy conversion
Energy utilization
Global warming
heterogeneous catalysis
Hydrolysis
Irradiation
Light irradiation
Oxides
Photoreduction
Photothermal conversion
photothermocatalysis
Promoters
Reduction
Solar energy
Synergistic effect
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Summary:The photoreduction of CO2 is attractive for the production of renewable fuels and the mitigation of global warming. Herein, we report an efficient method for CO2 reduction over elemental boron catalysts in the presence of only water and light irradiation through a photothermocatalytic process. Owing to its high solar‐light absorption and effective photothermal conversion, the illuminated boron catalyst experiences remarkable self‐heating. This process favors CO2 activation and also induces localized boron hydrolysis to in situ produce H2 as an active proton source and electron donor for CO2 reduction as well as boron oxides as promoters of CO2 adsorption. These synergistic effects, in combination with the unique catalytic properties of boron, are proposed to account for the efficiency of the CO2 reduction. This study highlights the promise of photothermocatalytic strategies for CO2 conversion and also opens new avenues towards the development of related solar‐energy utilization schemes. Four in one: Elemental boron is an efficient catalyst for direct CO2 reduction into CO and CH4 in the presence of water under light irradiation through a one‐step photothermocatalytic process. The elemental boron material harvests the incident light, converts it into thermal energy, generates hydrogen, and catalyzes the overall process.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201701370