Au/TiO2-CeO2 Catalysts for Photocatalytic Water Splitting and VOCs Oxidation Reactions

Photocatalytic water splitting for H2production and photocatalytic oxidation of 2-propanol,an example of volatile organic compounds, were investigated over TiO2catalysts loaded withgold and/or ceria. In the water splitting reaction the presence of gold only slightly affected theperformance of TiO2whereas the presence of CeO2had a more remarkable positive effect. In the2-propanol oxidation Au/TiO2was the most active sample in terms of alcohol conversion whereasAu/TiO2-CeO2exhibited the highest CO2yield. On the basis of characterization experiments (X-RayDiffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis EDX, surface area measurements, DiffuseReflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) and Raman spectroscopy), it was suggested that the interaction ofAu with TiO2causes an increase in the charge separation between the photo-excited electron/holepairs, leading to an enhanced photocatalytic activity (to acetone over Au/TiO2and to CO2overAu/TiO2-CeO2), whereas the presence of ceria, acting as a hole trap, positively mainly affects theformation of hydrogen by water splitting. Au/TiO2-CeO2 Catalysts for Photocatalytic Water Splitting and VOCs Oxidation Reactions. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306052921_AuTiO2-CeO2_Catalysts_for_Photocatalytic_Water_Splitting_and_VOCs_Oxidation_Reactions