Photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic H2 evolution combined with valuable furfural production
In this work the photocatalytic (PC) and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) reforming of furfuryl alcohol (FA) under environmental friendly conditions was investigated. Both H2 evolution and partial oxidation to furfuraldehyde were followed. For the first time TiO2 based photocatalysts were studied and the photocatalytic activity of home prepared photocatalysts was compared with that of commercial ones under both UVA and simulated solar irradiation. PEC tests were performed by using home prepared TiO2 nanotubes (TiO2 NTs) as photoanode and Pt free Ni foam as cathode to improve the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). Both the partial FA oxidation reaction rate and H2 evolution rate were normalized f…
A facile way to synthesize noble metal free TiO2 based catalysts for glycerol photoreforming
In this work anaerobic heterogeneous photocatalytic solar/UV light reforming of glycerol in aqueous media was performed with Pt-photodeposition and noble metal free modified TiO2 photocatalysts prepared through ball milling, a very simple and cheap coupled catalyst preparation method. Different amounts of Cu2O or 3% CuO were loaded on TiO2 using ball milling and during each run glycerol conversion, hydrogen and CO2 formed in the gas phase and 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and glyceraldehyde (GA) in the liquid phase were determined. The results were compared with the aim to verify the effectiveness of Cu2O in replacing Pt. Using noble metal free photocatalysts, 33% glycerol conversion, 10.3% an…