Enhanced performances of grafted VO x on titania/silica for the selective photocatalytic oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde.

Abstract: In this work gas phase photocatalytic selective oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde was studied with directly fluidizable photocatalysts made of grafted VO x on titania/silica in presence of phosphors as light carriers to test their performances in the photocatalytic system. The presence of VO x species anchored on TiO2/SiO2 enhanced ethanol conversion up to 66%, with acetaldehyde selectivity higher than 99%. The performances of V-based sample at 11wt% of TiO2 supported on fluidizable support were higher than those evaluated when nano-TiO2 powder is used as support. Moreover, the photocatalytic conversion of ethanol was further increased in presence of phosphors as light carriers. From the obtained results, it is concluded that by preparing VO x based catalyst through grafting method allows a dramatic enhance in the productivity of acetaldehyde, even when the concentration level of alcohol at photoreactor inlet is increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]