On the Selectivity of Simultaneous CO 2 and N 2 Reduction Using TiO 2 /Carbon Sphere Photocatalysts Prepared by Microwave Treatment and Mounted on Silica Cloth.

This paper presents new photocatalysts obtained by treating carbon spheres (CS) and TiO 2 in a microwave reactor at a pressure of 20 atm and a temperature of up to 300 °C for 15 min and then depositing TiO 2 /CS composites on glass fibre cloths. Such highly CO 2 -adsorbing photocatalysts showed photoactivity in the simultaneous water-splitting process, generating H 2 , reducing CO 2 to CO and CH 4 , and reducing N 2 to NH 3 . In addition, calculations of the hydrogen balance involved in all reactions were performed. Adding 1 g of carbon spheres per 1 g of TiO 2 maintained the high selectivity of nitrogen fixation at 95.87-99.5%, which was continuously removed from the gas phase into the water as NH 4 + ions.