Photocatalytic H2O2 Production from Ethanol/O2 System Using TiO2 Loaded with Au-Ag Bimetallic Alloy Nanoparticles

TiO2 loaded with Au-Ag bimetallic alloy particles efficiently produces H2O2 from an O-2-saturated ethanol/water mixture under UV irradiation. This is achieved via the double effects created by the alloy particles. One is the efficient photocatalytic reduction of O-2 on the Au atoms promoting enhanced H2O2 Formation, due to the efficient separation of photoformed electron-hole pairs at the alloy/TiO2 heterojunction. Second is the suppressed photocatalytic decomposition of formed H2O2 due to the decreased adsorption of H2O2 onto the Au atoms.