Nb2O5 nanofibers with Tungsten Additive for Photoconversion of Carbon Dioxide

• Grant number: 23/07616-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Elaine Cristina Paris
• Grantee: Rafaela Consulin Ferreira
• Host Institution: Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The growing increase in global warming rates is worrying due to the harmful effects on different ecosystems, caused by pollutants such as NOx, CO2, CH4, among others, and a way to minimize these effects is to convert these pollutants from photocatalytic processes . In the specific case of CO2, in the photoconversion process, products of commercial value can be obtained, which makes it highly attractive.Among the challenges of photocatalytic conversion, one of the main ones is the production with high yield and selectivity, allowing greater energy gain during the process. In order to improve the photocatalysis process, surface modifications that generate doped systems or with additives can contribute to increase the recombination time of the photogenerated pairs and expand the active spectrum from the ultraviolet to the visible region, thus, the present project aims at the development of a photocatalyst system based on the addition of WO3 to Nb2O5 fibers for CO2 conversion.The Nb2O5:WO3 system will be obtained in the form of nanofibers, since this morphology facilitates porosity control, preservation of surface area and active sites of the photocatalyst, when deposited on the surface of supports for later reuse.The nanofibers of the system with additive will be evaluated in concentrations of 0.1 to 5.0% (m/m) of tungsten oxide, using the electrospinning method, followed by heat treatment and then they will be deposited on supports with different porosities, in order to verify the effect of the surface on the reactivity of the photocatalyst for the conversion of CO2, which will be monitored by gas chromatography for the quantification of the generated products.At the end, the stability of the photocatalytic system will be evaluated against the number of cycles in which the system remains effective. aggregate, as well as the stability and reusability of this photocatalyst.