Synthesis of isolated ZnO nanorods on introducing g-C3N4 for improved photoelectrocatalytic methanol production by CO2 reduction

The photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) CO2 reduction into fuels has been developed as a prospective approach to resolve the environmental and energy concerns. Herein, a composite catalyst comprising ZnO nanorods dispersed on the g-C3N4 surface (g-C3N4/ZnO) was successfully obtained by simple ZnO seed layer formation and then hydrothermal processes. The synthesized and characterized g-C3N4/ZnO catalytic composite showed 2.8 times enhanced photocurrent density at-1 V applied potential than the bare g-C3N4. The g-C3N4/ZnO catalyst exhibited 2.86 times enhanced the PEC CO2 reduction to methanol than the prepared bare ZnO catalyst. The catalyst's enhanced PEC CO2 reduction performance was ascribed to the high surface area, and higher generation and lower recombination of e- /h+ pairs. For the first time, this study showed the enhanced methanol production by the PEC reduction of CO2 over the prepared g-C3N4/ZnO catalytic composite.