This paper reports our research on the role of adsorbed oxygen species in catalytic oxidation by Pt/TiO2 with UV-light pre-treatment under ambient condition, using formic acid as the probe molecule. We observed that UV-light pre-treatment gave a higher amount of active oxygen species (PtOads and O-ads) compared with the untreated Pt/TiO2, which invoked an almost seven-fold increase in the oxidation rate. The observed strong correlation between PtOads, O-ads, and the formic acid oxidation rate indicates the simple formic acid oxidation reaction is useful for evaluating active oxygen species generation which is essential for oxidation processes.

Read more in Catalysis Science and Technology, 2016 (advance article) - doi: 10.1039/C6CY00939E

Graphical abstract on the role of adsorbed oxygen species in catalytic oxidation of Pt/TiO2