Study on Cu/ZnO-TiO2 Catalyst for Photo Stimulated Synthesis of Crylic Acid from CO2 and C2H4

The metallic Cu modified n-p coupled semiconductor Cu/ZnO-TiO2 was prepared by the solgel method, and its surface structure, absorptivity of ultraviolet light, chemisorption properties and photocatalytic behaviors were investigated by techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), BET surface area (BET), Infrared absorption spectra (IR), UV-visible diffused reflectance spectra (UV-vis) and photo stimulated surface catalytic reaction. The results show that the main crystal structure of the catalyst is anatase TiO2 with the particle size about 10 nm. The Zn-O-Ti bond is formed and the absorption intensity in the wavelength region of 250～400 nm is enhanced through the coupling of ZnO and TiO2, while the absorption region is expanded to visible light with the UV absorbance limit shifting to the shorter wavelength region after Cu supported on the coupled semiconductor ZnO-TiO2. The adsorption states of reactants are important factors influencing the results of photocatalytic reaction, while the bridge adsorption state of CO2 formed on Cu and Lewis acid sites Ti4+ and undissociated of C2H4 formed on Cu and Lewis base sites bridge-O are the effective intermediates to synthesize the crylic acid with the selectivity over 87% under the temperature of 100℃.