abstract
Industrialisation has led to unprecedented levels of outdoor air pollution, posing a significant health risk to human beings. Consequently, there is an urgent need to replace fossil fuels with sustainable energy sources, thereby mitigating these risks and providing a safer outdoor and indoor environment. Titanium dioxide is a versatile transition metal oxide with applications ranging from energy conversion to environmental remediation. However, it faces limitations, particularly in its absorption spectrum and charge separation efficiency, and enhancing these properties remains a significant challenge. In this research work, we have decorated the surface of TiO(2 )hybridising it with noble-metal and/or noble-metal oxides (Ag and/or CuO) to improve the photocatalytic performances (monitoring the removal of nitrogen oxides and benzene, and hydrogen generation from water splitting) under simulated solar-light irradiation. Our results showed that titania modified with an Ag : Cu molar ratio equal to 1 : 1, not only exhibited the most promising performance in terms of nitrogen oxides and benzene removal, it was the optimum amount for the light-induced generation of hydrogen from water splitting.
keywords
X-RAY-ABSORPTION; PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY; CLIMATE-CHANGE; OXIDATION; BENZENE; ANATASE; RUTILE; DEGRADATION; TOLUENE; WATER
subject category
Chemistry
authors
Dvoranova, D; Koci, K; Lajaunie, L; Edelmannova, MF; Seabra, MP; Brezova, V; Arenal, R; Labrincha, JA; Tobaldi, DM
our authors
David Maria Tobaldi
Researcher
João António Labrincha Baptista
Full professor
Maria Paula Seabra
Assistant Professoracknowledgements
This work was partly supported by the Italian Ministry of Research (MUR) in the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU, M4C2, within the NRRP project NFFA-DI, CUP B53C22004310006, IR0000015. "I-PHOQS" Grant (CUP B53C22001750006) and under the complementary actions to the NRRP, "Fit4MedRob" Grant (PNC0000007, CUP B53C22006960001) and "ANTHEM" Grant (PNC0000003, CUP B53C22006710001), funded by NextGenerationEU. The STEM measurements were performed in the Laboratorio de Microscopias Avanzadas (LMA) at the Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain). Raul Arenal gratefully acknowledges the support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU, PID2019-104739GB-100/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), the ' Severo Ochoa' Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D of the MICIU (CEX2023-001286-S MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033), and from the Gobierno de Aragon (DGA) under the project E13-2R. Luc Lajaunie acknowledges funding the from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER UE), and the European Union "NextGenerationEU"/PRTR (PID2022-140370NB-I00, RYC2021-033764-I, CPP2021-008986). The authors also acknowledge the support by European Union under the REFRESH - Research Excellence for Region Sustainability and High-tech Industries project number, CZ.10.03.01/00/22_003/0000048 via the Operational Programme Just Transition and by Large Research Infrastructure ENREGAT (project No. LM2023056). The study was also financially supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract Nr. APVV-21-0039 and Scientific Grant Agency of the Slovak Republic (VEGA Project 1/0422/24). We are particularly obliged to Miss Dafne Maria Glaglanon for proof-editing the English of the manuscript. Open Access publishing facilitated by Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, as part of the Wiley - CRUI-CARE agreement.