Three-dimensional porous Cu-Zn/NF catalysts for efficient photocatalytic reduction of CO2 in alkaline environment for methanol preparation in a monolithic microreactor

The sluggish energy of photocatalytic CO2 reduction and the low methanol yields got are straightforwardly connected with the applied photocatalyst and reactor design, restricting the broad utilization of this technology. In light of this, the aim of this work is to innovate a new application of this Cu-Zn/Ni foam (Cu-Zn/NF) with a rod-like structure, which combines a intact foam-based photocatalyst with a microfluidic flow channel. This design ensures a larger specific surface area, besides a uniform phase distribution and efficient CO2 reduction. A novel foam-based monolithic photomicroreactor was evaluated by measuring methanol concentration and yield. Under the conditions of 25 mL·min−1, 0.5 M NaOH, 5 mm thickness of Ni foam, and 350 W xenon lamp irradiation conditions were applied, the methanol yield could reach 15.88 μmol·g−1·h−1. This outcome is superior to the announced values in most CO2 photoreactors. This work guides the optimization of photomicroreactors, besides provides new ideas for the use of monolithic microreactors for CO2 reduction.