Transition metal oxides, used as catalysts or supports, play a significant role for a number of important industrial processes, especially for acid/base and redox reactions. The surface reactivity and versatility of metal oxides make them attractive to design high-performing catalysts for biomass conversion, a complex reaction system involving predominantly acid/base and redox chemistries. However, most of the commercial metal oxides present a mixture of polymorphs, without well-defined particle sizes and exposed facets, making it challenging to correlate the catalyst structure and reaction performance. Therefore, well-defined model catalysts with high structural uniformity are desired to elucidate the structure-function relationships between the metal oxides and reactions of interest. In this work, we present the use of single-facet-exposed anatase TiO2 nanocrystals as model catalysts for alcohol dehydration. A series of TiO2 nanocrystals were synthesized to preferentially expose single facets, including (101) and (001), with high phase and surface purity. These catalysts were characterized using a full array of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques to examine their structural and acid/base properties. Results of this work will provide useful insights into the nature and population of facet-dependent acid-base sites on anatase TiO2, and mechanisms for alcohol dehydration.

Single-facet anatase TiO2 nanomaterials as model catalysts for alcohol dehydration

254th National Meeting (2017)

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