Visible light irradiation driven CO2 reduction into hydrocarbons on tri-metallic based layered double hydroxide

Herein, trimetallic CuZnAl layered double hydroxide (LDH) was synthesized via a soft chemical technique. The catalyst showed promising CO2 reduction in various hydrocarbons under the influence of a visible light source due to its narrow band gap (2.85 eV). During the 4 h photoreduction reaction, a maximum of 8.9 μL/mL/h ethanol, 4.8 μL/mL/h methanol and 35 μL/mL/h of isopropyl alcohol were achieved at 180th min of the reaction whereas 56.3 μL/mL/h of ethylene glycol at 120th min of the reaction. This work illustrates a convenient and sustainable method to engineer a capable photocatalyst for CO2 photoreduction.