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% and 5.4% selectivity towards DHA and GA, respectively, a CO2 concentration of 0.16 mM, and a H2 concentration of 1.01 mM corresponding to 0.17 mmol h−1 g−1 were obtained. Ex situ photoelectrochemical characterization confirmed the formation of a heterostructure between TiO2 and copper oxide and the effectiveness of Cu2O towards H2 formation.