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MgO and Mg(OH)2 thin films prepared by the SILAR method and their CO2 photocatalytic performance

  • Ceramics
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Abstract

CO2 photoconversion to solar fuels requires materials with a high affinity to the acidic CO2, and MgO and Mg(OH)2 films represent good candidates due to their basic sites are highly active for CO2 capture in a wide interval of temperatures. However, the deposition of MgO and Mg(OH)2 as thin film is difficult to obtain by traditional methods. As an alternative, in this work, the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method is proposed to obtain MgO/Mg(OH)2 mixtures over glass substrates at significantly lower temperatures (200–400 °C). The films were tested as photocatalysts in the CO2 photoconversion to solar fuels (HCOOH and CH3OH) under UV–visible-NIR irradiation. The as-prepared films exhibited the hexagonal structure of the Mg(OH)2 phase. As the temperature increased, XRD and XPS analysis confirmed the presence of orthorhombic MgO, while the morphology remains with similar grains with an estimated size of 1 µm. The annealing temperatures change the chemical species (Mg–O, Mg–OH, and Mg–CO3) on the films affected their photocatalytic activity. The films exhibited high affinity for CO2 due to the presence of defects (F and F+ centers) in both phases. The photocatalytic behavior was directly related to OH− species present in each sample. According to the results, it seems that fewer hydroxides and defects on the films favored higher efficiencies for the CO2 photoconversion. In addition, the films were exposed to accelerated weathering tests to evaluate their efficiency for more extended periods. The results indicated that the aged films still have activity for CO2 photoconversion.

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank CONACYT for financial support for this research through the following projects: FC-2016-1725, Paradigmas y Fronteras de la Ciencia 320379, and Cátedras-CONACYT 363, and 1060. In addition, thanks are extended to the UANL for its financial support through the projects: PAYCIT: CE1771-21, IT1766-21, and 277-CE-2022. We also thank Dr. Alonso Concha Balderrama and M.C. Luis Gerardo Silva Vidaurri from CIMAV-Monterrey for his technical support in the XRD and XPS measurements.

Funding

Authors declare they have no financial interests. This work was supported by the following CONACYT projects: FC-2016-1725, Paradigmas y Fronteras de la Ciencia 320379, and Cátedras-CONACYT 363, and 1060. Also, UANL was supported part of the work with the projects: PAYCIT: CE1771-21, IT1766-21, 277-CE-2022.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ecomateriales y Energía, Facultad de Ingeniería Civil, CONACYT-Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 66455, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico

    M. R. Alfaro Cruz & E. Luévano-Hipólito

  2. Departamento de Ecomateriales y Energía, Facultad de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 66455, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico

    M. R. Alfaro Cruz, E. Luévano-Hipólito & Leticia M. Torres-Martínez

  3. Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados S. C. (Unidad Monterrey), Av. Alianza Norte 202, Autopista Monterrey-Aeropuerto km 10, PIIT, C.P. 66628, Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico

    R. Garza-Hernández

  4. Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, S. C. (CIMAV), Miguel de Cervantes No. 120, Complejo Industrial Chihuahua, C.P. 31136, Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico

    Leticia M. Torres-Martínez

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design of this work. MRAC and EL-H contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, investigation. MRAC, EL-H, and RG-H contributed to the writing—original draft, writing—review, and editing. While LMT-M contributed to the conceptualization, project administration, founding acquisition, resources, writing—review, and editing.

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Correspondence to Leticia M. Torres-Martínez.

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Cruz, M.R.A., Luévano-Hipólito, E., Garza-Hernández, R. et al. MgO and Mg(OH)2 thin films prepared by the SILAR method and their CO2 photocatalytic performance. J Mater Sci 57, 18739–18753 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-07837-x

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