Although dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma represents a promising technology for CO2 conversion, its standalone application remains limited by low conversion efficiency, which could be improved via filling a suitable photocatalyst into the plasma reactor. In this paper, the synergistic effect of discharge plasma and Bi12O17Cl2@Cs2SnCl6–Sb0.35 photocatalyst was studied, achieving efficient carbon dioxide conversion. With the help of a photocatalyst, DBD plasma successfully realized the conversion of CO2 and water to CO, methanol, and ethanol. Compared with Cs2SnCl6–Sb0.35, Bi12O17Cl2-10@Cs2SnCl6–Sb0.35 increased methanol and ethanol production by 186 and 80%, respectively. Meanwhile, the conversion of carbon dioxide increased significantly with the presence of water in the plasma-photocatalyst system, achieving a conversion ratio of 35.6%. This boost is attributed to the enhancement of the surface conductivity of the photocatalyst during the plasma discharge, which in turn optimizes the charge transfer process. This paper provides a new idea and a promising technical roadmap for the resource utilization of CO2, which exhibits scientific significance and application potential.
Cao et al. (2026) studied this question.