Synergistic Effect of N and Ni2+ on Nanotitania in Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2

Nitrogen and nickel codoped nanotitania ( N - Ni / TiO 2 ) photocatalysts for producing methanol by photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 were prepared by an improved sol-gol method. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, HRTEM, DES, FTIR, TG-DSC, and UV-Vis, respectively. The experimental results indicated that nano- N - Ni / TiO 2 had better properties than the pure nanotitania ( TiO 2 ), N doped titania ( N / TiO 2 ), and Ni 2 + doped titania ( Ni / TiO 2 ), considering their performance of photoresponse and photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 . The methanol yield could reach 482.0μmol/g-cat under optimal conditions. Additionally, the synergetic effect of N and Ni 2 + on nano- TiO 2 in photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 was explained, and the mechanism of photocatalytic reduction CO 2 on N - Ni / TiO 2 catalyst was proposed.