Abstract:
The crystal phase, morphology and facet significantly influence the catalytic and photocatalytic activity of TiO
2. In view of optimizing the performance of catalysts, extensive efforts have been devoted to designing new sophisticate TiO
2 structures with desired facet exposure, necessitating the understanding of chemical properties of individual surface. In this work, we have examined the photooxidation of methanol on TiO
2(011)-(2×1) and TiO
2(110)-(1×1) by two-photon photoemission spectroscopy (2PPE). An excited state at 2.5 eV above the Fermi level (
EF) on methanol covered (011) and (110) interface has been detected. The excited state is an indicator of reduction of TiO
2 interface. Irradiation dependence of the excited resonance signal during the photochemistry of methanol on TiO
2(011)-(2×1) and TiO
2(110)-(1×1) is ascribed to the interface reduction by producing surface hydroxyls. The reaction rate of photooxidation of methanol on TiO
2(110)-(1×1) is about 11.4 times faster than that on TiO
2(011)-(2×1), which is tentatively explained by the difference in the surface atomic configuration. This work not only provides a detailed characterization of the electronic structure of methanol/TiO
2 interface by 2PPE, but also shows the importance of the surface structure in the photoreactivity on TiO
2.