| Sumario: | RuO nanoparticles supported on strontium titanate (STO) have demonstrated outstanding photothermal activity for CO methanation operating at 150°C under simulated sunlight irradiation. The photoresponse of the material is mainly due to UV photons, although RuO/STO still retains about 50% efficiency under visible light irradiation (>400 nm). Mechanistic studies are compatible with a photothermal process with minor contribution of photocatalytic electron/hole charge separation. This value ranks the material among the most efficient methanation photocatalysts.This manuscript reports the photothermal activity for CO methanation of RuO nanoparticles supported on strontium titanate (STO) operating at 150°C under simulated sunlight irradiation. The RuO/STO sample having the optimal performance exhibits under ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) irradiation with a power of 108 mW/cm at 150°C a CH production rate of 14.6 mmol CH h g. The photoresponse of the material is mainly due to UV photons, although RuO/STO still retains about 50% efficiency under visible light irradiation (>400 nm). Mechanistic studies are compatible with a photothermal process with minor contribution of photocatalytic electron-hole pair charge separation. The photocatalyst is efficient enough to also operate under continuous flow conditions, achieving with a contact time of 3 s at 150°C under about 1 sun irradiation a steady-state CH production rate of 30 μmol h for an 8-h-long experiment. This value ranks the material among the most efficient methanation photocatalysts.The present study reports the CO transformation to methane using RuO nanoparticles supported on strontium titanate (STO), operating at 150°C under simulated sunlight irradiation. The RuO/STO sample having the optimal performance exhibits complete CO conversion to methane in less than 2 h, probably the highest activity reported up to now. The photoresponse of the material is mainly due to UV light, although RuO/STO still retains about 50% efficiency under visible light irradiation. This result opens the possibility to use direct sunlight to transform the undesired atmospheric CO into fuels, contributing to a neutral carbon footprint. The photocatalyst is efficient enough to also operate under continuous flow conditions, which makes this photocatalyst very attractive for industrial purposes.
|
|---|
