Photocatalysis of size quantized TiO2 and Fe2O3 prepared in clay interlayers and nafion

Microcrystalline TiO₂ prepared in the interlayer spacings of sodium montmonllonite showed size-quantization effects and exhibited higherphotocatalytic activities than a TiO₂ bulk powder used as a reference for decarboxylation of naliphatic carboxylic acids covering the number of carbons of a molecule from 2 to 8. The high activities of the TiO₂ microcrystals exceeded the surface area difference between the two kinds of photocatalysts, and the difference observed is discussed in terms of differences in energy diagrams. Similar results were obtained for microcrystalline Fe₂O₃ prepared in sodium montmorillonite. The use of a cation exchange polymer Nafion allowed the preparation of size-quantized TiO₂ but it was found that apparent photocatalytic activities for decarboxylation of acetic acid in acidic solutions were low compared to those of the bulk TiO₂ due to specific adsorption of sulfonate groups of Nafion onto the active sites of the TiO₂ microcrystals.