Highly efficient photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ on amine-functionalized Ti-MCM-41 zeolite

Efficient adsorption and utilization of carbon dioxide play an important role in mitigating the greenhouse effect and developing clean energy. Surface functionalization of photocatalyst is an efficient method to promote the adsorption of CO₂ and convert it into hydrocarbon fuels. In this work, tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) is used to functionalize Ti-MCM-41 molecular sieve photocatalyst to enhance the adsorption and activation of CO₂. Ti-MCM-41 molecular sieve was modified without any precious metal additives. When the content of TEPA was 1%, the yield of CH₄ was 232 ppm g⁻¹ h⁻¹. Furthermore, the results indicate that high impregnation amount of TEPA causes strong and higher adsorption of CO₂ but inefficient for its conversion. This is probably due to the blockage of the channel when the impregnation amount of TEPA exceeds the threshold value, which hinders the further conversion of CO₂ molecules. Functionalization Ti-MCM-41 zeolite photocatalyst with amino group is the prime reason for its excellent CO₂ adsorption followed by activation capacity. In the future, this proposed composite might come up as a perspective photocatalyst in the field of photocatalysis for the purpose of environment remediation.