Selective ethanol formation from photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide in water with BiVO4 photocatalyst

The visible-light responsive photocatalyst BiVO4 was synthesized, and its photocatalytic reduction of CO2 in water was examined. Our study shows the selective formation of ethanol under the condition of high intensity visible-light irradiation, and suggests that intense irradiation generates a large number of C1 intermediate species anchored on the surface of BiVO4, which dimerize to form ethanol. For the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into ethanol, monoclinic BiVO4 is more efficient than tetragonal BiVO4.