Photocatalytic H2 production by ethanol photodehydrogenation: Effect of anatase/brookite nanocomposites composition

In view of the sustainable H2 production, development of more efficient catalysts for photocatalytic reforming of oxygenated compounds is required. In this study, we report the preparation of TiO2 nanocomposite with anatase/brookite composition prepared by hydrothermal treatments of Na-titanate precursor. The anatase/brookite ratio can be modulated changing the synthetic parameters, i.e. precursor/water mass-to volume ratio and hydrothermal treatment duration. The obtained materials present well crystallized particles with polyhedral morphology. The anatase/brookite ratio in the nanocomposite affects the mean size of Pt nanoparticles grown by photodeposition and the photocatalytic activity in H2 production by photodehydrogenation of ethanol, with multiphasic materials presenting smaller Pt nanoparticles and higher H2 production. The present anatase/brookite nanocomposites show higher H2 production normalized to the surface area with respect a reference TiO2 prepared by conventional sol–gel synthesis, suggesting that the present materials might expose a higher fraction of highly reactive facets instead of the most thermodynamically stable.