Photocatalysis over Binary Metal Oxides. Enhancement of the Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 in Titanium-Silicon Oxides

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/j100399a036

Photocatalytic reactions of alkenes and alkynes with water were investigated over titanium-silicon oxides in order to obtain information about the potential ability of binary oxides as photocatalysts.Photocatalytic activity of TiO2 species in the titanium-silicon oxides was found to be enhanced in the region of lower Ti content.X-ray, photoluminescence, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements indicate that Ti ions are enriched on the surface of the oxides having a low Ti content and present separately from each other in the SiO2 matrix.From these results, together with those obtained with highly dispersed TiO2 anchored on support surfaces, it is suggested that the higher photocatalytic activity of such catalysts is due to the diminished radiationless transfer of the photon energy absorbed by TiO2.