US EPA

738140 

Journal Article 

Carbon nanoparticles as visible-light photocatalysts for efficient CO2 conversion and beyond 

Cao, L; Sahu, S; Anilkumar, P; Bunker, CE; Xu, J; Fernando, KA; Wang, P; Guliants, EA; Tackett, KN; Sun, YP 

2011 

Yes 

Journal of the American Chemical Society
ISSN: 0002-7863
EISSN: 1520-5126 

133 

13 

4754-4757 

English 

21401091 

10.1021/ja200804h 

WOS:000289492700025 

Increasing atmospheric CO(2) levels have generated much concern, driving the ongoing carbon sequestration effort. A compelling CO(2) sequestration option is its photocatalytic conversion to hydrocarbons, for which the use of solar irradiation represents an ultimate solution. Here we report a new strategy of using surface-functionalized small carbon nanoparticles to harvest visible photons for subsequent charge separation on the particle surface in order to drive the efficient photocatalytic process. The aqueous solubility of the catalysts enables photoreduction under more desirable homogeneous reaction conditions. Beyond CO(2) conversion, the nanoscale carbon-based photocatalysts are also useful for the photogeneration of H(2) from water under similar conditions.