Preparation of Pd/TiO2 nanowires for the photoreduction of CO2 into renewable hydrocarbon fuels

摘要： In this study, various Pd-loaded TiO2 nanowire (Pd/TiO2–NW) catalysts were prepared using the hydrothermal method, and their photocatalytic activity toward the photoreduction of CO2 into methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) was evaluated. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence analysis. The addition of Pd on TiO2–NWs can improve the production yield of CO2 photoreduction to CH4 and CO. The 0.5 wt% Pd/TiO2–NWs showed optimal CO and CH4 yields of 50.4 and 26.7 μmol/g, respectively. Moreover, the 0.5 wt% Pd/TiO2–NWs could be used repeatedly with only a small loss of photocatalytic activity noted after 30 days. Furthermore, a mechanism for the photoreduction of CO2 was proposed. Therefore, Pd/TiO2–NWs are an efficient photocatalyst for the reduction of CO2 to CH4 and CO.