Characterization of the local structures of Ti-MCM-41 and their photocatalytic reactivity for the decomposition of NO into N(2) and O(2)

Ti-MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves were prepared at ambient temperature and were characterized by X-ray absorption near-edge structure and extended X-ray absorption fine structure, UV-vis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopic analyses. It was found that an increase in the Ti content caused the structure of the Ti-oxides in Ti-MCM-41 to change from an isolated tetrahedral coordination to adjacent Ti-oxide species with Ti(4+) of tetrahedral coordination. The photocatalytic reactivity of these catalysts for the decomposition of NO into N(2) and O(2) was found to strongly depend on the local structure of the Ti-oxide species including their coordination and distribution, i.e., the charge transfer excited state of the highly dispersed isolated tetrahedrally coordinated Ti-oxides act as the active sites for the photocatalytic decomposition of NO into N(2) and O(2).