Artículos SCI

Base-free aerobic oxidation of glucose in presence of Au/Al2O3, Au/CeO2, Au/CeO2(20 wt%)/Al2O3, Au/CeO2(25 wt%)/ZrO2 and Au/CeO2(50 wt%)/ZrO2 catalysts using molecular oxygen at atmospheric pressure is studied. Within the whole series high conversion and selectivity to gluconic acid are observed after 18 h of reaction at 120 degrees C. The activity and especially the selectivity changes are related to the support nature in a way that the higher the Lewis acidity of the support the lower the selectivity to gluconic acid and the higher the production of lactic acid. The highest yield to gluconic acid is obtained over Au/Al2O3 for which the influence of the reaction time, temperature and stirring rate are further evaluated and discussed.

Mixed oxides, alpha-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6, were prepared using a mechanical mixing procedure by adding to the Bi2WO6 previously obtained by hydrothermal method the corresponding amount of a prepared alpha-Fe2O3, the latter obtained by thermal decomposition of Fe(NO3)center dot 9H(2)O. The physicochemical surface, structural, morphological characteristics and optical properties of the samples, single and mixed, were determined by BET, XRD, FE-SEM, XPS and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra showed that incorporating a 5%wt. of alpha-Fe2O3 to the corresponding amount of Bi2WO6 sample broadened the visible light absorption of Bi2WO6 as expected. The photocatalytic activity, of single and mixed catalysts, to degrade a selected dye such as Methyl Orange (MO) as well as the transparent substrate Phenol (Ph) was studied, in aqueous medium (pH 5.5) under UV and sun-like illumination conditions in the absence and presence of H2O2. In the present study the use of a alpha-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6/H2O2 system demonstrate much higher photocatalytic efficiency to degrade both MO and Ph than pristine Bi2WO6 or alpha-Fe2O3, single or mixed. Using the system alpha-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6/H2O2, around 85% of MO was degraded in 60 min under sun-like illumination whereas 100% was degraded in 60 min under UV-illumination. However, just around 30% of Ph was degraded in 120 min in the alpha-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6/H2O2 system under sun-like illumination whereas around a 95% was degraded in 90 min under UV-illumination. Under UV illumination, the generation of hydroxyl radicals is favorable; whereas under sun-like illumination, only the small fraction of the UV can produces the center dot OH. Under illumination, the H2O2 could react with photoinduced electrons from the photocatalysts leading to the production of hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH).