Application of hydrothermally produced TiO2 nanotubes in photocatalytic esterification of oleic acid

作者：Manique Marcia Cardoso^*; Silva Aline Posteral; Alves Annelise Kopp; Bergmann Carlos Perez

来源：Materials Science and Engineering B-Solid State Materials for Advanced Technology, 2016, 206: 17-21.

DOI：10.1016/j.mseb.2016.01.001

• TNTs
• Hydrothermal method
• Photocatalysis
• Esterification
• Oleic acid

This study investigated the use of TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) as photocatalysts in the esterification of fatty acids for biodiesel production. The TNTs were synthesized via a hydrothermal route and evaluated for their crystallinity, morphology, surface area and photocatalytic activity compared with a TiO2 P25 standard. Optimum photocatalytic conditions were obtained using a 15% concentration of catalyst (w/w) and a 3:1 molar ratio of methanol to oleic acid. The highest yield of methyl oleate obtained was 86.0% when P25 was used as a photocatalyst. The lowest band gap energy was obtained with the TNT sample synthesized at 110 degrees C for 48 h (E-g = 3.08 eV), which also exhibited the highest rate of oleic acid esterification (59.3%) among all the investigated TNTs. We also observed that, in addition to the band gap, other factors such as the crystalline phase of the TNTs and their surface area were important in photocatalytic performance.

• 出版日期2016-4