Metal-Supported TiO 2 /SiO 2 Core-Shell Nanosphere Photocatalyst for Efficient Sunlight-Driven Methanol Degradation

M. R. Karimi Estahbanati, Thuy-Dung Vu, Trong-On Do, Zahra Nayernia and Maria C. Iliuta ()
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M. R. Karimi Estahbanati: Chemical Engineering Department, Université Laval, 1065 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Thuy-Dung Vu: Chemical Engineering Department, Université Laval, 1065 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Trong-On Do: Chemical Engineering Department, Université Laval, 1065 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Zahra Nayernia: School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz University, Mollasadra St., Shiraz 7193616511, Iran
Maria C. Iliuta: Chemical Engineering Department, Université Laval, 1065 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada

Clean Technol., 2023, vol. 5, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: The development of novel and active photocatalysts to industrialize photocatalysis technology is still a challenging task. In this work, a novel method is presented to prepare TiO 2 /SiO 2 NSs by covering SiO 2 nanospheres (NSs) with titanate-nanodiscs (TNDs) followed by calcination. In this regard, SiO 2 NSs are first synthesized and then TNDs are deposited on the SiO 2 NSs using a layer-by-layer deposition technique. The morphology of the prepared samples is analyzed via SEM and TEM analyses before and after the deposition. The analysis of metal (Cu, Pt, and Ni) loading on calcined TNDs/SiO 2 NSs reveals the highest specific surface area (109 m 2 /g), absorption wavelength extension (up to 420 nm), and photocatalytic activity for the Cu-loaded sample. In addition, studying the effect of metal content shows that loading 3% Cu leads to the highest photocatalytic activity. Finally, it is demonstrated that H 2 S treatment can improve the photocatalytic activity by around 15%. These findings suggest the calcined TNDs/SiO 2 NSs are a versatile photocatalyst with potential applications in other processes such as hydrogen production and CO 2 valorization.

Keywords: photocatalyst; nanosphere; nanodisc; TiO 2; degradation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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