A facile way to synthesize noble metal free TiO2 based catalysts for glycerol photoreforming

In this work anaerobic heterogeneous photocatalytic solar/UV light reforming of glycerol in aqueous media was performed with Pt-photodeposition and noble metal free modified TiO2 photocatalysts pre-pared through ball milling, a very simple and cheap coupled catalyst preparation method. Different amounts of Cu2O or 3% CuO were loaded on TiO2 using ball milling and during each run glycerol conver-sion, hydrogen and CO2 formed in the gas phase and 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and glyceraldehyde (GA) in the liquid phase were determined. The results were compared with the aim to verify the effec-tiveness of Cu2O in replacing Pt. Using noble metal free photocatalysts, 33% glycerol conversion, 10.3% and 5.4% selectivity towards DHA and GA, respectively, a CO2 concentration of 0.16 mM, and a H2 concen-tration of 1.01 mM corresponding to 0.17 mmol h-1 g-1were obtained. Ex situ photoelectrochemical characterization confirmed the formation of a heterostructure between TiO2 and copper oxide and the effectiveness of Cu2O towards H2 formation.(c) 2022 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rightsreserved.

Automated summary

In this study, noble metal-free modified TiO2 photocatalysts were prepared using ball milling, and Pt-photodeposition was performed. The results confirmed the effectiveness of Cu2O in replacing Pt.