Photoreforming of Glucose over CuO/TiO2

• Published in: Catalysts Vol. 10; no. 5; p. 477
• Main Authors: Elnaz Bahadori, Gianguido Ramis, Danny Zanardo, Federica Menegazzo, Michela Signoretto, Delia Gazzoli, Daniela Pietrogiacomi, Alessandro Di Michele, Ilenia Rossetti
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01-05-2020
• Subjects: copper oxide; glucose conversion; hydrogen production; photocatalysis; photoreforming; titania
• ISSN: 2073-4344
• DOI: 10.3390/catal10050477

Hydrogen production has been investigated through the photoreforming of glucose, as model molecule representative for biomass hydrolysis. Different copper- or nickel-loaded titania photocatalysts have been compared. The samples were prepared starting from three titania samples, prepared by precipitation and characterized by pure Anatase with high surface area, or prepared through flame synthesis, i.e., flame pyrolysis and the commercial P25, leading to mixed Rutile and Anatase phases with lower surface area. The metal was added in different loading up to 1 wt % following three procedures that induced different dispersion and reducibility to the catalyst. The highest activity among the bare semiconductors was exhibited by the commercial P25 titania, while the addition of 1 wt % CuO through precipitation with complexes led to the best hydrogen productivity, i.e., 9.7 mol H2/h kgcat. Finally, a basic economic analysis considering only the costs of the catalyst and testing was performed, suggesting CuO promoted samples as promising and almost feasible for this application.