Title:

Synthetically Modified Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles for Photocatalysis

The conversion of fossil fuels into energy emits large amounts of carbon dioxide that has lasting effect on the Earth's climate. Photocatalysis presents a possible solution, as it can generate renewable fuels using abundant precursors and the energy provided by the sun. Hydrogen gas is an ideal fuel to target for production by photocatalysis as it is carbon-free, renewable, and far more energy dense than gasoline. Hydrogen is formed by the reductive coupling of two protons from water with two electrons. In this work, our aim is to assemble a system using phenyl dicarboxylate-functionalized titanium dioxide nanoparticles that electrostatically interact with a cationic ammonium-functionalized cobaloxime proton-reduction catalyst for the photocatalytic generation of hydrogen. The synthetic approach to the phenyl dicarboxylate compound will be presented and the NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy will be presented to confirm the structure. Attachment to the titanium dioxide surface was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy and quantified by UV-vis difference spectroscopy.

Name

Comment*

Comments are viewable only by submitter

Captcha*