Continous-flow photocatalytic reactor for the precisely controlled deposition of metallic nanoparticles

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b2325809 (Table of contents)

In this project, applicability of photodeposition of different noble metal nanoparticles on various photocatalyst materials by means of a novel continuous-flow photocatalytic reactor has been studied. Three different composite systems (Pt/graphene, Pt/TiO2, and Au/TiO2) with monodisperse and uniformly distributed particles were produced by this reactor, and the photodeposition mechanism, as well as the synthesis optimization strategy, were discussed. By the pulsed and controlled excitation of the photocatalyst, precise deposition of metallic nanoparticles on photocatalyst substrate was achieved. Guidelines for the replication of the reactor and its operation were provided in detail. The synthesis methods and their technical aspects were described comprehensively. The role of the ultraviolet (UV) dose on the photodeposition process and exposure length were investigated and the characteristic photodeposition behavior of each composite system were provided. To characterize the final products, FE-SEM, TEM, XPS, and ICP-OES were used to identify morphology, size distribution, composition, and photodeposition reaction ratio, respectively. Although our current work does not yield a comprehensive strategy with optimized parameters of photodeposition for the abovementioned nano-composite systems, capability of the developed continuous-flow photocatalytic reactor for TiO2 semiconductor substrate with platinum and gold noble metals was proved, and knowledge was enriched.