Comparing the contribution of visible-light irradiation, gold nanoparticles, and titania supports in photocatalytic nitroaromatic coupling and aromatic alcohol oxidation

Zhao, Jian; Ke, Xuebin; Liu, Hongwei; Huang, Yiming; Chen, Chao; Bo, Arixin; Sheng, Xianliang; Zhu, Huaiyong

Abstract

Under visible-light irradiation, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) supported by titania (TiO₂) nanofibers show excellent activity and high selectivity for both reductive coupling of nitroaromatics to corresponding azobenzene or azoxylbenzene and selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols to corresponding aldehydes. The Au NPs act as active centers mainly due to their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect. They can effectively couple the photonic energy and thermal energy to enhance reaction efficiency. Visible-light irradiation has more influence on the reduction than on the oxidation, lowering the activation energy by 24.7 kJ mol⁻¹ and increasing the conversion rate by 88% for the reductive coupling, compared to merely 8.7 kJ mol⁻¹ and 46% for the oxidation. Furthermore, it is found that the conversion of nitroaromatics significantly depends on the particle size and specific surface area of supported Au NPs; and the catalyst on TiO₂(B) support outperforms that on anatase phase with preferable ability to activate oxygen. In contrast, for the selective oxidation, the effect of surface area is less prominent and Au NPs on anatase exhibit higher photo-catalytic activity than other TiO₂ phases. The catalysts can be recovered efficiently because the Au NPs stably attach to TiO₂ supports by forming a well-matched coherent interface observed via high-resolution TEM.

Citation

Zhao, J., Ke, X., Liu, H., Huang, Y., Chen, C., Bo, A., Sheng, X., & Zhu, H. (2016). Comparing the contribution of visible-light irradiation, gold nanoparticles, and titania supports in photocatalytic nitroaromatic coupling and aromatic alcohol oxidation. Particle and Particle Systems Characterization, 33(9), 628-634. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppsc.201600049

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 13, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jun 13, 2016
• Publication Date: Sep 16, 2016
• Deposit Date: Feb 13, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 13, 2017
• Journal: Particle & particle systems characterization
• Print ISSN: 0934-0866
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 628-634
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ppsc.201600049
• Keywords: Photocatalysis, Gold nanoparticles, Titania nanofibres, Nitroaromatic coupling, Alcohol oxidation, Visible light
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/448056
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ppsc.201600049/abstract
• Additional Information: Authors' accepted manuscript of article: Zhao, J., Ke, X., Liu, H., Huang, Y., Chen, C., Bo, A., Sheng, X. and Zhu, H. (2016), Comparing the Contribution of Visible-Light Irradiation, Gold Nanoparticles, and Titania Supports in Photocatalytic Nitroaromatic Coupling and Aromatic Alcohol Oxidation. Part. Part. Syst. Charact., 33: 628–634. doi:10.1002/ppsc.201600049
• Contract Date: Feb 13, 2017