Carbon
monoxide (CO) is an important feedstock for the chemical
industry, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is also
an important chemical with versatile applications. Here, a photocatalytic
system was discovered for the simultaneous production of CO and H2O2 from CO2 and H2O with
both high activity and selectivity without any externally applied
voltage and any consumption of chemical compounds, which was promoted
by using a calcium titanate (CaTiO3) photocatalyst modified
with a silver–manganese oxide (Ag–MnO
x
) dual cocatalyst. Although a Ag/CaTiO3(CTO) photocatalyst
was reported to reduce CO2 with water to form CO and O2, the coexistence of MnO
x
species
with silver nanoparticles (NPs) not only improved the CO formation
rate more than 2 times with a selectivity of 76% but also changed
the selectivity of the oxidative reaction and forms H2O2 instead of O2 with a high selectivity of 99%.
The Ag NPs promoted the CO2 reduction to CO by the photoexcited
electrons, and the Mn(III) oxide species deposited on the CaTiO3 surface contributed to the water oxidation to H2O2 by the positive holes in the aid of HCO3
– as a reaction mediator. The produced CO is easily
separated from the aqueous solution to the gas phase, and the H2O2 is stably stored in the aqueous HCO3
– solution. This photocatalytic system can utilize
the stable and ubiquitous molecules (CO2 and H2O) to produce reactive and useful molecules (CO and H2O2), concurrently, meaning that it can convert photoenergy
to storable chemical energy to increase sustainability.