Mesoporous WO3 modified by Mo for enhancing reduction of CO2 to solar fuels under visible light and thermal conditions

Mesoporous WO3 (m-WO3) was synthesized by a hydrothermal method using mesoporous silica KIT-6 as a hard template and silicotungstic acid as a precursor. The m-WO3 modified by molybdenum (Mo) nanoparticles could be used as a stable catalyst for photo-thermal inducing CO2 reducting reactions for solar fuels. Under visible light irradiation (lambda > 420 nm) and 250-, the catalytic activity of m-Mo/WO3 for the CH4 and CH3 OHevolution was found to be higher than that of m-WO3 and commercial WO3. The amount of evolved CH3OH from m-Mo/WO3 has reached 13.80 mu molg(-1) in 1 2 h, which is ca. 10 times as high as that of c-WO3 (1.36 mu molg(-1)) and 6.5 times as high as that of m-WO3 (2.12 mu molg(-1)), making it attractive for practical applications.