Modern society is heavily dependent on liquid hydrocarbon fuels and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future. The conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide (RWGS) via photothermal conversion using suitable photocatalysts is a promising technology for the production of fuels and platform chemicals with minimal use of fossil fuels. The ternary catalyst CZA (Cu/ZnO/Al2O3) has been utilized with a composition of 50% Cu, 30% ZnO, and 20% Al2O3. The use of metal nanoparticles in conjunction with a semiconductor is employed due to the synergistic effects of different modes of photoactivation. The catalyst has been characterized using XRD, BET, and in-situ UV-vis spectroscopy.