Soft template-assisted copper-doped sodium dititanate nanosheet/graphene oxide heterostructure for photoreduction of carbon dioxide to liquid fuels.

Photoreduction of CO to a high-value product is an interesting approach that not only captures CO but also converts it into other products that can be sold or used in industry. The mechanism for the CO conversion relies strongly on photo-generated electrons that further couple with CO and form active radicals for the reaction. In this research, we synthesized a heterostructure of copper-doped sodium dititanate nanosheets and graphene oxide (CTGN) following a one-step hydrothermal process with assistance from a sodium hydroxide soft template.

One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Precious Metal-Doped Titanium Dioxide-Graphene Oxide Composites for Photocatalytic Conversion of CO to Ethanol.

We utilized a one-step hydrothermal process for the synthesis of precious metal-doped titanium dioxide (TiO)/graphene oxide (GO) composites. The metal-doped TiO/GO composites, including silver-TiO/GO (Ag-TiO/GO), palladium-TiO/GO (Pd-TiO/GO), and copper-TiO/GO (Cu-TiO/GO), were synthesized by mixing a metal precursor, titanium butoxide, and graphene oxide in a water-ethanol mixture in an autoclave hydrothermal reactor. The photocatalytic performance of the composites was tested in the photoreduction of carbon dioxide (CO) to ethanol.