Preparation of basalt fiber@perovskite PbTiO3 core–shell composites and their effects on CH4 production from CO2 photoreduction

Abstract Newly designed composites of basalt fiber (BF) core–shells coated with TiO 2 − and PbTiO 3 (BF@TiO 2 and BF@PbTiO 3 , respectively) were introduced to improve CO 2 photoreduction to CH 4 . A facile dipping method was used to construct the BF@TiO 2 and BF@PbTiO 3 materials with a three-dimensional nano-network microstructure. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and CO 2 - and H 2 O-TPD. The core@shell structure increased significantly the adsorption of CO 2 and H 2 O gases on the nano-network microstructure, which effectively enlarged the microfiber/nanoparticle interface. BF@PbTiO 3 exhibited superior photocatalytic behavior, and produced 290 μmol g cat −1 L −1 CH 4 gas after a 6 h reaction. These results were attributed to the effective CO 2 gas adsorption and inhibition of the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. A model for the enhanced photoactivity over basalt BF@PbTiO 3 was proposed. This highly stable core–shell 3D network structural composite is quite promising for use as a photocatalyst for the reduction of CO 2 –CH 4 .