Hydrogen Peroxide Producing Titania-Silica Supraparticles as Tailorable Photocatalysts for Flow Chemistry Reactions in Microfluidic Reactors.

Abstract

The development of hybrid catalysts for cascade reactions that demonstrate high efficiency and longevity strongly relies on the precise arrangement of the individual components within such a material. This guarantees both their proximity for enhanced interaction and, at the same time, sufficient separation avoiding mutual harm. Before the acutal design of a usually very complex hybrid catalyst, it is essential to study and understand the impact of structural characteristics on catalytic activities of each catalytically active constituent separately. This study thus focuses on a comprehensive structure-activity analysis of the component within a highly customizable TiO₂-SiO₂ material, which produces H₂O₂ photocatalytically. The tailorable design of the hybrid material is achieved through the utilization of the spray-drying process. The H₂O₂ productivity of the obtained so-called TiO₂-SiO₂ supraparticles is demonstrated in both a batch and a flow reactor, marking a crucial step toward their future application as hybrid catalysts in photoassisted cascade reactions.