Solar-driven CO_(2) conversion to methane and methanol using different nanostructured Cu_(2)O-based catalysts modified with Au nanoparticles

This work describes the use of TiO_(2)nanotubes-based electrodes(TNT)modified with Cu_(2)O nanostructures and gold nanoparticles for the photoelectroreduction of CO_(2)to produce value-added compounds.A thin layer of polydopamine was used as both an adherent agent and an electron transfer mediator,due to itsπ-conjugated electron system.The highest production yield was achieved using a TNT@PDA/Nc/Au40%electrode,with Faradaic efficiencies of 47.4%(110.5μM cm^(-2))and 27.8%(50.4μM cm^(-2))for methanol and methane,respectively.The performance of the photoelectrodes was shown to be Cu_(2)O facet-dependent,with cubic structures leading to greater conversion of CO_(2)to methanol(43%)and methane(27%),compared to the octahedral morphology,while a higher percentage of metallic gold on the nanostructured Cu_(2)O surface was mainly important for CH4production.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations supported these findings,attributing the superior photoelectrocatalytic performance of the TNT@PDA/Nc/Au40%electrode for CH4generation to the formation of an OCH3intermediate bonded to Au atoms.Studies using isotope-labeling and analysis by gas chromatograph-mass(GC-MS)demonstrated that13CO_(2)was the source for photoelectrocatalytic generation of13CH3OH and13CH313CH2OH.