Preparation and characterization of platinum doped porous titania nanoparticles for photocatalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide

TiO2 samples doped with platinum oxide were obtained by using a sol–gel low temperature approach. The photocatalytic oxidation of CO in the presence of O2 was monitored to study the influence of the Pt doping on the photocatalytic degradation performance of TiO2. The obtained results were compared with those obtained with TiO2 Degussa (P-25). Photocatalytic studies of the prepared mesoporous Pt/TiO2 nanoparticles for the photooxidation of CO revealed notable photocatalytic activity, which was 3 times higher than that of Pt photodeposited onto commercial TiO2 Degussa P-25. Also quantum yield for CO2 formation for mesoporous Pt/TiO2 calcined at 500 °C is higher than that of Pt photodeposited onto commercial TiO2 Degussa P-25 by about three times. The structure and textural properties Pt/TiO2 were studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption (BET), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV.

► Synthesizing mesoporous titania photocatalysts using template self assembly method.
► Pt nanoparticles either attending on the titania surfaces or inside it.
► They show enhanced optical and photoresponse properties.
► They show high activities towards CO photocatalytic oxidation.