Photoinduced Dry and Bireforming of Methane to Fuels over La‐Modified TiO 2 in Fixed‐Bed and Monolith Reactors

A systematic investigation on the performance of fixed‐bed and monolithic reactors for dynamic photoinduced CO 2 reduction with CH 4 via dry and bi‐reforming of methane over La‐modified TiO 2 nanocatalyst under UV light is conducted. La/TiO 2 is synthesized using a modified sol–gel method, and the monolithic‐coated catalyst is synthesized using a dip‐coating method. The performance of La/TiO 2 is tested for different reforming systems in both types of photoreactors. The results reveal 5 wt% La/TiO 2 effectively promotes CO 2 and CH 4 conversion to CO, H 2 , and C 2 H 6 , whereas catalyst performance is greatly enhanced in the presence of H 2 O in both types of reactors via bireforming of methane (BRM). Lower temperature is favorable for CO production, whereas H 2 and C 2 H 6 yields are enhanced at higher temperature. Notably, the monolith photoreactor is favorable for enhanced CO and H 2 yields. More interestingly, quantum yield (QY) for H 2 in BRM using monolith photoreactor is 1.402%—an increment of almost 4.99‐fold than dry reforming of methane (DRM). This can be attributed to enhanced CO 2 adsorption with hindered charge recombination by La, appropriate redox potentials, larger illuminated surface area, and higher photon flux. The prolonged La/TiO 2 activity in a monolith photoreactor for enhanced CO and H 2 production signifies its potential for CO 2 conversion applications.