Study on the performance of photothermal catalyzed carbon dioxide hydrogenation to CH4 over doped sodium tantalate-based perovskite catalysts

NaTaO3 (ABO3)-based catalysts with B-site substituted metals M= (Co, Ni, Fe, Ga, Ti) for photothermal-catalyzed carbon dioxide reduction hydrogenation to C1 products were prepared via a simple one-step hydrothermal method. The B-site metal doping catalysts exhibited excellent performance for the aimed photothermal catalytic reaction. Among them, the NaTa0.9Co0.1O3 was the most eye-catching catalyst with a stable crystal cell, an excellent heterojunction structure, and a bandgap structure for light absorption, The fine structure properties results in a low electron-hole recombination rate and high photoelectron transfer efficiency under light conditions. The suitable alkaline adsorption sites and thermal reduction properties also be the effective assistance for the catalytic process. The CO yield and CH4 yield of the NaTa0.9Co0.1O3 catalyst were 6.6 times and 120 times higher than those of the pure-phase NaTaO3, respectively, and the CH4 selectivity was up to 98% under the illumination condition of 300 ℃. For the photothermal hydrogenation reaction, thermal catalysis dominates the reaction, and light illumination promotes the generation and transfer of photogenerated electrons and improves the catalyst stability. The above studies show that NaTaO3 based perovskite has a great potential in the field of photothermal catalyzed carbon dioxide reduction. [Display omitted] •B-site doped perovskite photothermal catalysts were prepared by a one-pot method.•The introduction of metallic Co doping greatly improves CO and CH4 yields.•Photocatalysis and thermocatalysis synergize to promote CO2 reduction.•The mechanism of action of photothermal catalytic synergy was explored.•The reasons for metal doping to improve catalytic performance were discussed.