Indium oxide nanocluster doped TiO2 catalyst for activation of molecular O2

Abstract

The In₂O₃ nanocluster doped faceted nanosize anatase TiO₂ can activate molecular O₂ for styrene epoxidation reaction. The {001} planes of anatase TiO₂ are exposed for 550 °C calcined samples whereas {101} planes are predominantly observed for 450 °C calcined samples. The computational studies highlight that In₂O₃ is better stabilized on {001} planes of TiO₂ resulting in efficient activation of molecular oxygen on In₂O₃ nanocluster doped {001} faceted TiO₂ nanostructures. From the kinetic measurements, it is found that styrene epoxidation reaction is of pseudo-zero order and the corresponding rate constant (k) for the reaction calcined at 450 °C is 0.188 h⁻¹ and at 550 °C it is 0.366 h⁻¹. The activation energy for the reaction is found to be 28.44 kcal mol⁻¹.