CO Preferential oxidation promoted by UV irradiation in the presence of H2 over Au/TiO2.

The catalytic oxidation of CO was performed over Au/TiO(2) under UV irradiation in the presence of H(2) in different reaction systems. It was found that the introduction of H(2) enhanced the CO thermocatalytic oxidation in a CO pre-introduced system (CO/O(2)vs. CO/H(2)/O(2)), but suppressed that in an O(2) pre-introduced (O(2)/CO vs. O(2)/H(2)/CO) system. Although the CO oxidation in both CO/H(2)/O(2) and O(2)/H(2)/CO systems could be remarkably enhanced under UV irradiation, the oxidation of H(2) was suppressed under UV irradiation. It was proposed that the dissociative chemisorption H ([triple bond]Ti-H) at surface oxygen vacancy sites of TiO(2) could act as both the electron-acceptors for the photogeneration electrons and the electron-donors for the chemisorbed O(2) at TiO(2), and thus enhance the CO oxidation during the coinstantaneous process of thermocatalysis and photocatalysis. The suppression of H(2) thermocatalytic oxidation under UV irradiation might be ascribed to the electron transfer effect, i.e., the dissociative chemisorption H on Au (Au-H) could be desorbed at the H(2) molecule via accepting the photogenerated electrons from TiO(2).