An Optimized Approach for Methanol Production from CO2 by a Novel Magnetic MIL-101(Fe)-NH2-GO Photocatalyst via Response Surface Methodology

Global warming, fueled by rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, stands as a significant environmental challenge in the 21st century. The mounting concerns have sparked a surge in research efforts aimed at harnessing CO2 conversion into valuable compounds. This investigation delves into the synthesis and characterization MI-101(Fe)-NH2-GO-Fe3O4 photocatalyst, particularly focusing on the impact of NH2 surface modification on MIL-101(Fe) in methanol production enhancement. The results notably indicate an enhancement in the performance of the photocatalyst following the surface modification of MIL-101(Fe). Notably, MIL-101(Fe)-NH2-GO with 10% Fe3O4 photocatalyst exhibits the narrowest band gap at 1.68 eV, indicating superiority in catalytic activity. The study further establishes a p-n heterojunction in MIL-101(Fe)-NH2-GO with 10 Wt.% Fe3O4 photocatalyst, signifying advanced catalytic properties. An experimental framework utilizing design of experiment was implemented to investigate the influence of various factors, including time, catalyst dosage, weight percentage of Fe3O4, and pH, on operational parameters, with the aim of optimizing these variables. The study achieved methanol production of 2978.25 mg/L under optimal conditions, using 0.46 g of MIL-101(Fe)-NH2-GO with 7.82% Fe3O4 photocatalyst in 107 min at pH 5. Further examination of the process through GC-MS identified methanol, formamide, and formaldehyde as the main products.