One-Step Synthesis of Cu<sub>x</sub>O<sub>y</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> Photocatalysts by Laser Pyrolysis for Selective Ethylene Production from Propionic Acid Degradation
Juliette Karpiel,
Pierre Lonchambon,
Frédéric Dappozze,
Ileana Florea,
Diana Dragoe,
Chantal Guillard,
Nathalie Herlin-Boime
Affiliations
Juliette Karpiel
NIMBE, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Pierre Lonchambon
NIMBE, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Frédéric Dappozze
Institut de Recherche Sur La Catalyse Et l’Environnement De Lyon (IRCELYON), Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Avenue Albert Einstein, 69626 Villeurbanne, France
Ileana Florea
Laboratory of Physics of Interfaces and Thin Films (LPICM), Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128 Palaiseau, France
Diana Dragoe
CNRS, Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux d’Orsay (ICMMO), Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
Chantal Guillard
Institut de Recherche Sur La Catalyse Et l’Environnement De Lyon (IRCELYON), Université Lyon 1, CNRS, Avenue Albert Einstein, 69626 Villeurbanne, France
Nathalie Herlin-Boime
NIMBE, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
In an effort to produce alkenes in an energy-saving way, this study presents for the first time a photocatalytic process that allows for the obtention of ethylene with high selectivity from propionic acid (PA) degradation. To this end, TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) modified with copper oxides (CuxOy/TiO2) were synthetised via laser pyrolysis. The atmosphere of synthesis (He or Ar) strongly affects the morphology of photocatalysts and therefore their selectivity towards hydrocarbons (C2H4, C2H6, C4H10) and H2 products. Specifically, CuxOy/TiO2 elaborated under He environment presents highly dispersed copper species and favours the production of C2H6 and H2. On the contrary, CuxOy/TiO2 synthetised under Ar involves copper oxides organised into distinct NPs of ~2 nm diameter and promotes C2H4 as the major hydrocarbon product, with selectivity, i.e., C2H4/CO2 as high as 85% versus 1% obtained with pure TiO2.
