Co-precipitation synthesized nanostructured Ce0.9Ln0.05Ag0.05O2−δ materials for solar thermochemical conversion of CO2 into fuels

Synthesis, characterization, and application of Ce0.9Ln0.05Ag0.05O2−δ materials (where, Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Er) for the thermochemical conversion of CO2 reported in this paper. The Ce0.9Ln0.05Ag0.05O2−δ materials were synthesized by using an ammonium hydroxide-driven co-precipitation method. The derived Ce0.9Ln0.05Ag0.05O2−δ materials were characterized via powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and electron diffraction spectroscopy. The characterization results indicate the formation of spherically shaped Ce0.9Ln0.05Ag0.05O2−δ nanostructured particles. As-prepared Ce0.9Ln0.05Ag0.05O2−δ materials were further tested toward multiple CO2 splitting cycles by utilizing a thermogravimetric analyzer. The results obtained indicate that all the Ce0.9Ln0.05Ag0.05O2−δ materials produced higher quantities of O2 and CO than the previously studied pure CeO2 and lanthanide-doped ceria materials. Overall, the Ce0.911La0.053Ag0.047O1.925 showed the maximum redox reactivity in terms of O2 release (72.2 μmol/g cycle) and CO production (136.6 μmol/g cycle).