Uranyl-anchored MCM-41 as a highly efficient photocatalyst for the complete oxidation of methanol under sunlight

BiVO4/Bi2O3 submicrometer sphere composite: Microstructure and photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation

“…The oxide semiconductor photocatalysis has been broadly investigated in order to solve existing environmental problems such as the destruction of inorganic and organic pollutants [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] since TiO 2 was found to be an effectual photocatalyst [8,9]. TiO 2 has various valuable properties including greatly oxidative, chemically stable, economical, and non-toxic characteristics.…”

An overview of studies on the highly dispersed uranium oxide species occluded within mesoporous MCM-41 and MCM-48 host materials

“…We also employed in-situ fluorescence, electron paramagnetic resonance, and in situ FT-IR spectroscopy techniques to demonstrate the reversible and active participation of uranyl groups in the studied photocatalytic reactions and to monitor the radiation-induced transient species formed over the catalyst surface. The detailed reaction mechanism and the role played by the uranyl ions in the photooxidation of methanol over UO 2þ 2 /MCM, arrived on the basis of these results, are described elsewhere in detail [33]. As discussed in several publications on photo-chemical characteristics of uranyl ions [14], visible light photolysis of UO 2þ 2 yields a strongly luminescent excited state.…”

“…In this article, we present an overview of some of the recent studies carried out in our laboratories on this subject, the detailed account of which may be found in already published work [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

“…We have indeed demonstrated recently that the uranyl ions anchored to MCM may serve as efficient heterogeneous photocatalysts for the complete destruction of molecules such as methane, ethylene, benzene, cyclohexane, cyclohexene and methanol, etc. [33,51]. These reactions were carried out at room temperature, in vapor phase, and in the presence of sunlight and air.…”

Sunlight-Assisted Photocatalytic Oxidation of Methane over Uranyl-Anchored MCM-41

“…More recently, we successfully demonstrated that isolated uranyl ions anchored strongly within the mesopores of MCM-41 molecular sieves, referred to as UO 2þ 2 /MCM-41, behave as highly efficient heterogeneous photocatalysts in the complete degradation of methanol, under ambient conditions of solar radiation [16]. In continuation, in the present study, we have now successfully exploited the absorbance of the uranyl ions anchored in these materials in the UVvisible region for various photocatalytic reactions, in the presence of sunlight.…”