Nanosized metal deposits on titanium dioxide for augmenting gas-phase toluene photooxidation

The build-up of intermediate species on the surface of TiO2 during gas-phase toluene (C7H8) photodegradation has been observed to deactivate the photocatalyst. Nanosized metallic deposits on the TiO2 surface may enhance the photocatalytic process and improve photocatalyst performance. In this study, noble (Ag, Au) and platinum group (Pt, Pd, Rh) metals, at a nominal loading of 0.5 at.%, were deposited onto Degussa P25 TiO2 to enhance photocatalyst performance and inhibit deactivation. Pd, Rh and Au deposits delayed photocatalyst deactivation by a factor of 2, while Pt deposits delayed photocatalyst deactivation by a factor of 20, when compared with neat TiO2. Ag deposits did not improve photocatalyst activity. Metal deposit performance was related to the work function of each metal, however, the Pt finding suggested that these effects are not governed solely by this aspect, but factors such as deposit characteristics and/or thermal catalytic properties of the metals may be influential.