TiO2 Photocatalysis for the Transformation of Aromatic Water Pollutants into Fuels

The growing world energy consumption, with reliance on conventional energy sources and the associated environmental pollution, are considered the most serious threats faced by mankind. Heterogeneous photocatalysis has become one of the most frequently investigated technologies, due to its dual functionality, i.e., environmental remediation and converting solar energy into chemical energy, especially molecular hydrogen. H-2 burns cleanly and has the highest gravimetric gross calorific value among all fuels. However, the use of a suitable electron donor, in what so-called photocatalytic reforming, is required to achieve acceptable efficiency. This oxidation half-reaction can be exploited to oxidize the dissolved organic pollutants, thus, simultaneously improving the water quality. Such pollutants would replace other potentially costly electron donors, achieving the dual-functionality purpose. Since the aromatic compounds are widely spread in the environment, they are considered attractive targets to apply this technology. In this review, different aspects are highlighted, including the employing of different polymorphs of pristine titanium dioxide as photocatalysts in the photocatalytic processes, also improving the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 by loading different types of metal co-catalysts, especially platinum nanoparticles, and comparing the effect of various loading methods of such metal co-catalysts. Finally, the photocatalytic reforming of aromatic compounds employing TiO2-based semiconductors is presented.

Automated summary

The rapid growth in global energy consumption and environmental pollution from conventional energy sources has led to increased research in heterogeneous photocatalysis. Enhancing TiO2 photocatalytic activity by loading different metal co-catalysts, particularly platinum nanoparticles, and comparing their loading methods, is crucial for improving efficiency. Utilizing TiO2-based semiconductors for photocatalytic reforming of aromatic compounds highlights the potential of this technology for environmental remediation and solar energy conversion.