Active Materials for Photocatalytic Reduction of Carbon Dioxide

Solar reforming of hydrocarbons from the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide is receiving considerable attention worldwide due to both the simplicity of the process and the easy manageability of the system. The methods of reducing carbon dioxide can be electrochemical, photochemical, photocatalytic, photoelectrochemical, and biochemical. This chapter summarizes the various means of activation to reduce carbon dioxide. It examines the heterogeneous photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide by semiconducting materials. The chapter presents a brief description of nanomaterials. It focuses on how useful they are for the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide. It is realized that in any successful attempt to make this process viable commercially, the selection of photocatalytic material is an important requirement. The chapter provides a list of semiconductors with data on bandgap, valence band maximum, and conduction band minimum. Carbon dioxide is chemically inert, has a closed shell electronic configuration, and is linear in structure.