Effect of silver deposits on the photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide samples for the dehydrogenation or oxidation of 2-propanol

Abstract Until now, the effect of the deposition of metal particles onto a powdered semiconductor oxide on its photocatalytic activity has been determined for group VIII transition metals only. In this study, AGTiO2 samples were prepared by photodeposition, characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and tested, under band-gap illumination, using the oxidation of 2-propanol (neat liquid phase or mixed with water) in the absence or presence of molecular oxygen. The silver deposits were found to be metallic both before and after use, but the size of the particles and their distribution on the support were markedly influenced by the type …