TiO 2 nanofibers were fabricated by combination of sol−gel and electrospinning techniques. Ag-doped TiO 2 nanofibers with different Ag contents were prepared by two different methods (in situ electrospinning or wetness impregnation of Ag on TiO 2 nanofibers) and heat treated at 500 °C for 2 h under an air or N 2 atmosphere. The obtained catalysts were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and N 2 adsorption analyzed by the Brunauer− Emmett−Teller (BET) method. Photocatalytic glucose conversions with electrospun TiO 2 and Ag-doped TiO 2 nanofibers for production of high-value products were carried out. From different doping methods, the results indicated that 1 wt % Ag-TiO 2 nanofibers prepared by an in situ method with calcination under N 2 achieved the highest glucose conversion (85.49%). From several Ag loading contents (i.e., 0, 1, 2, and 4 wt %) in Ag-doped TiO 2 nanofibers, the nanofibers exhibited different glucose conversions [in order of 2 wt % (99.65%) > 1 wt % (85.49%) > 4 wt % (77.72%) > 0 wt % (29.64%)]. Arabinose, xylitol, gluconic acid, and formic acid were found as the high-value chemicals with the photocatalytic reaction of TiO 2 and Ag-doped TiO 2 nanofibers under UVA irradiation. Product yields of each converted chemicals from different photocatalysts from different Ag loading contents showed relatively same trends with the glucose conversion. From all results, it can be concluded that the good characteristics of 2 wt % Ag-TiO 2 nanofibers such as the smallest anatase crystallite size (8.25 nm) and the highest specific surface area (S BET = 53.69 m 2 / g) promoted the highest photocatalytic activity. Additionally, TiO 2 and Ag-doped TiO 2 nanofibers exhibited higher photocatalytic performance for glucose conversion than commercial TiO 2 (P25) and synthesized TiO 2 nanoparticles. Finally, Ag-doped TiO 2 nanofibers showed recycling ability with high photocatalytic glucose conversion after four-time use.

TiO2-based photocatalysts synthesized by the microwave-assisted sol-gel method was tested in the photocatalytic glucose conversion. Modifications of TiO2 with type-Y zeolite (ZeY) and metals (Ag, Cu, and Ag-Cu) were developed for increasing the dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles and increasing the photocatalytic activity. Effects of the TiO2 dosage to zeolite ratio (i.e., TiO2/ZeY of 10, 20, 40, and 50 mol %) and the silica to alumina ratio in ZeY (i.e., SiO2:Al2O3 of 10, 100, and 500) were firstly studied. It was found that the specific surface area of TiO2/ZeY was 400–590 m2g−1, which was higher than that of pristine TiO2 (34.38 m2g−1). The good properties of 20%TiO2/ZeY photocatalyst, including smaller particles (13.27 nm) and high surface area, could achieve the highest photocatalytic glucose conversion (75%). Yields of gluconic acid, arabinose, xylitol, and formic acid obtained from 20%TiO2/ZeY were 9%, 26%, 4%, and 35%, respectively. For the effect of the silica to alumina ratio, the highest glucose conversion was obtained from SiO2:Al2O3 ratio of 100. Interestingly, it was found that the SiO2:Al2O3 ratio affected the selectivity of carboxylic products (gluconic acid and formic acid). At a low ratio of silica to alumina (SiO2:Al2O3 = 10), higher selectivity of the carboxylic products (gluconic acid = 29% and formic acid = 32%) was obtained (compared with other higher ratios). TiO2/ZeY was further loaded by metals using the microwave-assisted incipient wetness impregnation technique. The highest glucose conversion of 96.9 % was obtained from 1 wt. % Ag-TiO2 (40%)/ZeY. Furthermore, the bimetallic Ag-Cu-loaded TiO2/ZeY presented the highest xylitol yield of 12.93%.