Preparation of Nanowire like WSe 2 -Graphene Nanocomposite for Photocatalytic Reduction of CO 2 into CH 3 OH with the Presence of Sacrificial Agents.

A nanowire-like WSe2 -graphene catalyst was prepared via ultra-sonication and was tested in terms of the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into CH3 OH under irradiation with UV/visible light. The prepared nano-composite was further characterized via XRD, SEM, TEM, Raman and XPS. The photocurrent analysis was further tested for its photocatalytic reduction of CO2 using gas chromatography (GCMS-QP2010 SE). To further improve the the photo-catalytic efficiency, a sacrificial agent (Na2 S/Na2 SO3 ) was added to the WSe2 -graphene nanocomposite and was found to improve the photo-catalytic efficiency, with the methanol yield reaching 5.0278 µmol g-1 h-1 . Our present work provides a convenient way to prepare nanomaterials various morphologies that have future applications for environmental remediation.