Issue 41, 2013

Photooxidation of ethanol and 2-propanol on TiO2(110): evidence for methyl radical ejection

Abstract

The photooxidation of ethanol and 2-propanol was studied under UHV conditions on a single crystal TiO2(110) surface using a combination of temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and pump–probe laser ionization techniques. Previous studies of these reactions have shown that the first step involves photocatalytic dehydrogenation to either an acetaldehyde or acetone intermediate. In this work, we show that when adsorbed alcohols are irradiated with UV light in the presence of molecular oxygen, methyl radicals are ejected from the surface. Furthermore, it is shown that these radicals possess kinetic energy distributions which are remarkably similar to those measured for the photooxidation of acetaldehyde and acetone. This result suggests that methyl radicals are produced during a second photocatalytic step which involves photooxidation of the aldehyde/ketone intermediates.

Graphical abstract: Photooxidation of ethanol and 2-propanol on TiO2(110): evidence for methyl radical ejection

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Jul 2013
Accepted
06 Sep 2013
First published
11 Sep 2013

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013,15, 17976-17982

Photooxidation of ethanol and 2-propanol on TiO2(110): evidence for methyl radical ejection

M. D. Kershis and M. G. White, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, 15, 17976 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP53027B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements