Photocatalytic CO2reduction by TiO2 and related titanium containing solids

Abstract

The shortage of fossil fuels and the need to find alternative renewable and sustainable fuels for transportation are triggering an increasing interest in the photocatalytic reduction of CO₂. In this review, we have focused on titanium containing photocatalysts that effect the reduction of CO₂ to fuels. The various products that are more generally formed are CH₄, CH₃OH, CO as well as HCOOH. This review has been organized primarily depending on the type of titanium material used as the photocatalyst. The list includes pure TiO₂ as well as metal- and non metal-doped titania, noble metals supported on titania and micro-/mesoporous titanosilicates or porous matrices containing titania clusters. In a general introduction we comment on the limitations of the current approaches and the various possibilities and conditions for performing the irradiation. In a final section, we also give our view on future developments and open issues to be addressed in this field.