Microfluidic photoelectrochemical CO2 based reduction using strontium titanate with carbon nitride nanosheets.

The present work introduces a photoelectrochemical (PEC) microfluidic device for CO2 reduction (CO2R) using SrTiO3−based nanocomposites as the photocathode. These nanomaterials are an adequate option for PEC systems due to their stability, high energy conversion and easy synthesizability. The formation of a SrTiO3/g-C3N4 nanocomposite was confirmed successful through different material characterization techniques (UV-VIS, RAMAN, SEM,). The PEC performance characterization of the proposed material revealed increased aqueous CO2 absorption, enhanced charge separation through bandgap narrowing, decreased charge transfer resistance (RCT), and favorable band alignment for CO2R. Finally, a microfluidic PEC system was fabricated using the nanocomposite, while accounting for reaction conditions, energetic requirements and the sustainability of the reaction system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]