Photocatalytic Enhancement for CO2 Reduction Using Au Nanoparticles Supported on Fe-Doped SrTiO3-δ Perovskite

This study focuses on the use of Au nanoparticles supported on the SrTiO3-delta perovskite doped with Fe ions as a photocatalyst for CO2 reduction and methanol production using water as the hydrogen supplier. The photocatalytic evaluation of the synthesized materials shows that Au nanoparticles supported on the SrTi(1-x)FexO3-delta perovskites can enhance photocatalytic CO2 reduction. The sample with the doping level x = 0.125 has the highest methanol production, 9.5 times more than the undoped sample and 3.5 times more than its counterpart without Au nanoparticles. The results of the DFT + U calculations show that the contributions from the iron atoms states reduce the energy gap in the perovskite composite, SrTi(1-x)FexO3-delta. Additionally, Fe incorporation endows the system with the capacity to create electron-hole pairs via direct band transitions at the high-symmetry point R with the doping levels of x = 0.125 and x = 0.250.