Photocatalytic hydrogen generation and electron storage capability of mesoporous TiO2 aerogels with adjustable surface area

22 October 2021, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Mesoporous TiO2 aerogels with surface area larger than 600 m2 g-1 have been prepared via acid-catalyzed sol-gel synthesis and supercritical drying. Varying temperature treatment in air results in changes in the morphology of the aerogels and their specific surface area. Increasing the calcination temperature to 500 °C results in decreased surface area, however in strongly increased hydrogen evolution rates in photocatalytic experiments. Moreover, electron storage capabilities of different TiO2 aerogels are investigated. The ability to store photogenerated electrons in the surface states of the aerogels upon illumination of dispersions in water-methanol mixtures increases with lower calcination temperature. Furthermore, the extent of electron storage also depends on hole scavenger concentration. Finally, nitrogen reduction to ammonia in the dark is performed with photogenerated stored electrons in TiO2 aerogels, separating the charge carrier photogeneration from the dark reduction reaction.

Keywords

TiO2 aerogel
Electron storage
Photocatalysis
Hydrogen production
Nitrogen reduction

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.