CO2 and Water Activation on Ceria Nanocluster Modified TiO2 Rutile (110)

02 February 2018, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Surface modification of TiO2 with metal oxide nanoclusters is a strategy for the development of new photocatalyst materials. We have studied modification of the (110) surface of rutile TiO2 with ceria nanoclusters using density functional theory corrected for on-site Coulomb interactions (DFT+U). We focus on the impact of surface modification on key properties governing the performance of photocatalysts, including light absorption, photoexcited charge carrier separation, reducibility and surface reactivity. Our results show that adsorption of the CeO2 nanoclusters, with compositions Ce5O10 and Ce6O­12, is favourable at the rutile (110) surface and that the nanocluster-surface composites favour non-stoichiometry in the adsorbed ceria so that reduced Ce ions will be present in the ground state. The presence of reduced Ce ions and low coordinated O sites in the nanocluster lead to the emergence of energy states in the energy gap of the TiO2 host, which potentially enhance the visible light response. We show, through an examination of oxygen vacancy formation, that the composite systems are reducible with moderate energy costs. Photoexcited electrons and holes localize on Ce and O sites of the supported nanoclusters. The interaction of CO2 and H2O is favourable at multiple sites of the reduced CeOx-TiO2 composite surfaces. CO2 adsorbs and activates, while H2O spontaneously dissociates at oxygen vacancy sites.

Keywords

TiO2
DFT+U
Heterostructure
CO2 Activation
Water Dissociation
Reduction
CeO2

Supplementary materials

Title
Description
Actions
Title
SuppInfo
Description
Actions

Comments

Comments are not moderated before they are posted, but they can be removed by the site moderators if they are found to be in contravention of our Commenting Policy [opens in a new tab] - please read this policy before you post. Comments should be used for scholarly discussion of the content in question. You can find more information about how to use the commenting feature here [opens in a new tab] .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy [opens in a new tab] and Terms of Service [opens in a new tab] apply.