Regulating protonation paths for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 methanation by coupling Pt sites on WO2.9/TiO2

Du J, Deng J, Zhou CA, Yue H, Liu C, Schmuki P, Kment Š, Zhou X (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Catalysis: Science and Technology Royal Society of Chemistry

DOI: 10.1039/d5cy00167f

Abstract

CO2 methanation via photocatalysis with water vapor is a sustainable technique for reducing CO2 emission but is challenged by the high energy barrier associated with the initial adsorption, activation and protonation of CO2 molecules. In this work, a substoichiometric WO2.9 thin film with strong Lewis acidity was coated on TiO2 microspheres, followed by the deposition of Pt cocatalysts on WO2.9 with controlled Pt single atoms and clusters (Pt-WO2.9/TiO2). The methane production rate reached 10.74 μmol h−1 g−1 with a selectivity of 99.8%, which was ∼40 times higher than that of bare TiO2 (0.27 μmol h−1 g−1). The high methane production rate was attributed to the synergy of Pt sites on the WO2.9/TiO2 heterojunction, where the Pt clusters facilitated water dissociation, thereby providing H* through hydrogen spillover on the surface, and the presence of a substoichiometric WO2.9 surface further enhanced the spillover process. The high density of active H* promoted the protonation pathway for CO2 activation (CO2 → COOH+ → *COOH), which improved the adsorption of the essential intermediate *CO on Pt single atoms and displayed a significantly reduced energy barrier for the protonation reaction of C1 intermediates, resulting in a mixed reaction pathway. This work provides new insights into a mechanism to regulate the reaction path to facilitate efficient photocatalytic CO2 methanation.

Authors with CRIS profile

Patrik Schmuki Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffwissenschaften (Korrosion und Oberflächentechnik) (LKO)

Involved external institutions

Sichuan University (SCU) / 四川大学 CN China (CN) Palacky University Olomouc / Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci CZ Czech Republic (CZ)

How to cite

APA:

Du, J., Deng, J., Zhou, C.A., Yue, H., Liu, C., Schmuki, P.,... Zhou, X. (2025). Regulating protonation paths for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 methanation by coupling Pt sites on WO2.9/TiO2. Catalysis: Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cy00167f

MLA:

Du, Jiajun, et al. "Regulating protonation paths for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 methanation by coupling Pt sites on WO2.9/TiO2." Catalysis: Science and Technology (2025).

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