Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic reactivity of Ti-containing micro- and mesoporous materials

Ti-oxides incorporated within the framework of microporous zeolites and mesoporous molecular sieves were found to exhibit high and unique photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of NO into N-2 and O-2 as well as the reduction Of CO2 with H2O to produce CH4 and CH3OH. Spectroscopic investigations of these catalytic systems using photoluminescence, UV-vis, XAFS (XANES and FT-EXAFS) and IR analyses revealed that the charge transfer excited state of the isolated tetra-coordinated Ti-oxides plays a vital role in these photocatalytic reactions. The reactivity of such Tioxides was found to depend strongly on their local structures which were controlled by the unique framework structures of the micro- and mesoporous material supports.