超细粉TiO2光催化氧化SO2的研究

Ti O2 作为性能优良的光催化氧化剂在有机污染物的光降解方面已得到了广泛重视 [1～ 3] .已经发现 ,Ti O2 超细粉末的晶型、表面积、表面修饰及基团密度等均影响其光催化活性 .本文通过 Ti O2 对SO2 的光催化氧化性能研究了 Ti O2 的光催化活性受表面态的影响 ,并给出了 SO2 的光催化氧化反应的机制及动力学关系 .1　实验部分1 .1　仪器与试剂　表面光电压谱仪 ( SPS,吉林大学研制 ) ;MK 型电子能谱仪 ;370 0型气相色谱仪 ;石英光化学反应瓶 (自制 ,30 0 m L) ;40 0 W高压汞灯 .采用 Sol- gel法制备 Ti O2 超细粉 [4 ] ,经 32 0 ,4…     

Photocatalytic bleaching of p-nitrosodimethylaniline in TiO2 aqueous suspensions: A kinetic treatment involving some primary events photoinduced on the particle surface

The photocatalytic bleaching of p-nitrosodimethylaniline (P) has been investigated in aqueous suspensions of TiO₂. It was found that both charge carriers (hole and electron) were reactive to P to result in a bleaching. The roles of O₂ and several hole scavengers (HCOO⁻, EDTA, I⁻) have also been examined. A reaction mechanism has been proposed with consideration of several primary processes photoinduced on TiO₂ surface. The results of the kinetic analysis fit fairly well to those of the experiments. The rate constant (k^h_p) of the reaction between P and the adsorbed hydroxyl radical was estimated to be in the order 10¹⁰ M⁻¹ s⁻¹, which is in good agreement with that obtained from the homogeneous reaction of P with free OH radicals. Of particular interest is the pH dependence of the photobleaching rate. Around both pK_a of P and pH_ZPC of TiO₂, the photobleaching of P was steeply enhanced. This can be reasonably attributed to the mutual interaction (repulsion versus attraction) between P and TiO₂ particles in different pH ranges.     

二氧化钛负载单原子催化剂用于光催化反应的研究

Titania (TiO₂) has been among the most widely investigated and used metal oxides over the past years, as it has various functional applications. Extensive research into TiO₂ and industrial interest in this material have been triggered by its high abundance, excellent corrosion resistance, and low cost. To improve the activity of TiO₂ in heterogeneous catalytic reactions, noble metals are used to accelerate the reactions. However, in the case of nanoparticles supported on TiO₂, the active sites are usually limited to the peripheral sites of the noble metal particles or at the interface between the particle and the support. Thus, highly dispersed single metal atoms are desired for the effective utilization of precious noble metals. The study of oxide-supported isolated atoms, the so-called single-atom catalysts (SACs), was pioneered by Zhang's group. The high dispersion of precious noble metals results helps reduce the cost associated with catalyst preparation. Because of the presence of active centers as single atoms, the deactivation of metal atoms during the reaction, e.g., by coking for large agglomerates, is retarded. The unique coordination environment of the noble metal center provides special sites for the reaction, consequently increasing the selectivity of the reaction, including the enantioselectivity and stereoselectivity. Hence, supported SACs can bridge homogenous and heterogeneous reactions in solution as they provide selective reaction sites and are recyclable. Moreover, owing to the high site homogeneity of the isolated metal atoms, SACs are ideal models for establishing the structure-activity relationships. The present review provides an overview of recent works on the synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic applications of SACs (Pt₁, Pd₁, Ir₁, Rh₁, Cu₁, Ru₁) supported on TiO₂. The preparation of single atoms on TiO₂ includes the creation of surface defective sites, surface modification, stabilization by high-temperature shockwave treatment, and metal-ligand self-assembly. Conventional characterization methods are categorized as microscopic imaging and spectroscopic methods, such as aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis (EXAFS), and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). We attempted to address the critical factors that lead to the stabilization of single-metal atoms on TiO₂, and elucidate the mechanism underlying the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and CO₂ reduction. Although many fascinating applications of TiO₂-supported SACs in photocatalysis could only be addressed superficially and in a referencing manner, we hope to provide interested readers with guidelines based on the wide literature, and more specifically, to provide a comprehensive overview of TiO₂-supported SACs.     

棒状金属有机框架结构PCN-222(Cu)/TiO2复合材料的制备及其高效光催化CO2还原性能

The photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ has attracted considerable attention owing to the dual suppression of environmental pollution and energy shortage. The technology uses solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into hydrocarbon fuel, which is of great significance for achieving the carbon cycle. The development of low-cost photocatalytic materials is critical to achieving efficient solar energy to fuels conversion. One of the most commonly employed photocatalysts is TiO₂. However, it suffers from broad band gap as well as the recombination of photo-excited holes and electron. Hence, in this work, we report the photochemical reduction of CO₂ using rod-like PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composites as photocatalyst through a simple hydrothermal method, in which TiO₂ nanoparticles are anchored at the interface of the SiC rod PCN-222(Cu). Multiple characterization techniques were used to analyze the structure, morphology, and properties of the PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composite. A series of characterizations including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, photo-electrochemical, and photoluminescence (PL) confirm the successful preparation of PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composites. SEM reveals that the TiO₂ nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surface of the rod-shaped PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂. XRD results show that PCN-222(Cu) and PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composite photocatalysts with good crystal structure were successfully synthesized. According to the DRS results, the prepared PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composite samples exhibit characteristic absorption peaks of metalloporphyrins in the visible region. PL spectroscopy, transient photocurrent response, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy further confirm that the rod-like PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ samples have high electron-hole pair separation efficiency. By controlling the mass ratio of PCN-222(Cu) and TiO₂, the photocatalytic CO₂ reduction performance test shows that the 10% PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composite achieves optimal catalytic performance, yielding 13.24 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹ CO and 1.73 μmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹ CH₄, respectively. All the rod-like PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composites exhibit better photocatalytic CO₂ activity than that of TiO₂ nanoparticles or PCN-222(Cu) under the illumination of xenon lamps, which is attributed to charge transport and electron-hole separation capabilities. After three test cycles, the catalytic activity of PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ photocatalyst was virtually unchanged. The reduction yield of the catalyst increased for 8 h under continuous illumination, indicating that PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composites have acceptable stability. The estimation of the band gap curve and the Mote-Schottky curve test show that the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital position of PCN-222(Cu) is more negative than the TiO₂ of the conduction band; hence, a possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism of the PCN-222(Cu)/TiO₂ composite is proposed. This study provides a new strategy for the integration of metal-organic frameworks and oxide semiconductors to construct efficient photocatalytic systems.     

Synthesis of N-TiO2@NH2-MIL-88(Fe) Core-shell Structure for Efficient Fenton Effect Assisted Methylene Blue Degradation Under Visible Light

Core-shell TiO₂-based photocatalysts with specific composition, morphology, and functionality have attracted considerable attention for their excellent degradation properties on organic pollutants via a photocatalytic oxidation process. Herein, a N-TiO₂@NH₂-MIL-88(Fe) core-shell structure was prepared by coating NH₂-MIL-88(Fe) on nitrogen-doped TiO₂(N-TiO₂) nanoparticles. Introduction of heteroatom nitrogen to pure TiO₂ expands the spectral response range, leading to enhanced quantum efficiency of photocatalyst. Furthermore, loading NH₂-MIL-88(Fe) on N-TiO₂ improved the adsorption ability of the nanocomposites due to the porous tunnels of NH₂-MIL-88(Fe). The resulted core-shell N-TiO₂@NH₂-MIL-88(Fe) nanocomposites realized the transfer of photo excited electrons from N-TiO₂ to NH₂-MIL-88(Fe) rapidly, partially reduced Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ in NH₂-MIL-88(Fe), and further enhanced the Fenton effect on efficiently degrading methylene blue dye(MB) under visible light(λ ≥ 420 nm) with the assistance of H₂O₂.     

SnO_2/TiO_2纳米管复合光催化剂的性能及失活再生

基于微波水热法和微乳液法合成SnO2/TiO2纳米管复合光催化剂.通过X射线衍射(XRD)、配有能量色散X射线光谱仪(EDX)的透射电镜(TEM)和电化学手段对光催化剂进行表征.以甲苯为模型污染物,考察光催化剂在紫外光(UV)和真空远紫外光(VUV)下的性能及失活再生.结果表明,SnO2/TiO2纳米管复合光催化剂形成三元异质结(锐钛矿相TiO2(A-TiO2)/金红石相TiO2(R-TiO2)、A-TiO2/SnO2和R-TiO2/SnO2异质结),促使光生电子-空穴对的有效分离,提高光催化活性.SnO2/TiO2表现出最佳的光催化性能,UV和VUV条件下的甲苯降解率均达100%,CO2生成速率(k2)均为P25的3倍左右.但由于UV光照矿化能力不足,中间产物易在催化剂表面累积.随着UV光照时间的增加,SnO2/TiO2逐渐失活,20 h后k2由138.5 mg·m-3·h-1下降到76.1 mg·m-3·h-1.利用VUV再生失活的SnO2/TiO2,过程中产生的·OH、O2-·、O(1D)、O(3P)、O3等活性物质可氧化吸附于催化剂活性位的难降解中间产物,使催化剂得以再生,12 h后k2恢复到143.6 mg·m-3·h-1.UV和VUV的协同效应使UV降解耦合VUV再生成为一种可持续的光催化降解污染物模式.     

Nature of surface oxygen intermediates on TiO2 during photocatalytic splitting of water

The surface oxygenated intermediates present on TiO₂ during photocatalytic water splitting have been identified and their accumulation on the titania surface is responsible for the deactivation of H₂ evolution rate during photocatalysis.     

太阳光照射浮石负载二氧化钛降解氨氮废水

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了Ti O_2,并使Ti O_2负载在浮石上制备Ti O_2/浮石光催化剂。用X射线荧光光谱(XRF)、电镜扫子显微描(SEM)和傅里叶红外光谱(FT-IR)表征浮石、Ti O_2及Ti O_2/浮石。在太阳光照射下,用Ti O_2/浮石处理模拟氨氮废水,以废水中氨氮降解率为标准,考察影响氨氮降解因素。结果表明,Ti O_2成功固定在浮石表面,负载率为3.71%;废水中氨氮降解率随太阳光照射时间、废水p H值、催化剂Ti O_2/浮石含量增加而增大。当初始氨氮浓度为500 mg/L、太阳照射180 min、废水p H=11、催化剂Ti O_2/浮石剂量为20 g/L时,氨氮降解率达82.0%,氨氮除去率86.8%,降解产物中未发现污染成分NO_2~-和NO_3~-产生。催化剂再生/催化3次,每次再生后氨氮降解率约下降10.0%。该方法快速、简单、低消耗和产生二次污染少,能有效地降解废水中的氨氮。     

Dispersion properties of TiO2 nano-powder synthesized by homogeneous precipitation process at low temperatures

The dispersion stability of rutile TiO₂ powder with a unique nano-structure synthesized by homogeneous precipitation process at low temperatures (HPPLT) has been investigated with adding the various electrolytes in both pure aqueous and organic media. Zeta potential measurements have shown that the addition of electrolytes such as CsCl, CaCl₂, FeCl₃, and ZrCl₄ to aqueous and pure organic dispersion media leads to generally a charge reversal from negative to positive on the surface of TiO₂ particle. The electrostatic repulsive force acting on between TiO₂ particles dispersed in pure organic media was found to be significantly greater than that in aqueous media, which is closely related to the physical properties of the organic solvents, such as viscosities and dielectric constant. The surface potentials of TiO₂ particles have been greatly modified by the particulate properties, pH, dispersion medium, and valence of the ionic species, which governs the colloidal behavior of TiO₂ particles virtually.     

Enhanced Visible-light Photocatalytic Activity of g-C3N4/Nitrogen-doped Graphene Quantum Dots/TiO2 Ternary Heterojunctions for Ciprofloxacin Degradation with Narrow Band Gap and High Charge Carrier Mobility

Limited visible-light absorption and high recombination rate of photogenerated charges are two main drawbacks in g-C₃N₄-based photocatalysts. To solve these problems, g-C₃N₄/nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs)/TiO₂ ternary heterojunctions were facilely prepared via a one-step calcining method. The morphology, structure, optical and electrochemical properties of g-C₃N₄/NGQDs/TiO₂ were characterized and explored. The optimal g-C₃N₄/NGQDs/TiO₂ composite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance of ciprofloxacin (CIP) compared with the as-prepared g-C₃N₄, TiO₂(P25) and g-C₃N₄/TiO₂ heterojunction under visible light irradiation. The apparent rate constant of the composite is around 6.43, 4.03 and 2.30 times higher than those of g-C₃N₄, TiO₂ and g-C₃N₄/TiO₂, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency should be mainly attributed to the improvement of light absorption and charge separation and transfer efficiency, originating from the narrow band gap and high charge carrier mobility. The active species trapping experiments results showed that the h⁺ and ^·O₂^- were the main active species in the degradation process. A possible photocatalytic reaction mechanism of the g-C₃N₄/NGQDs/TiO₂ composite for the enhanced degradation of CIP under visible light irradiation was also proposed.     

甲烷直接催化氧化制备甲醇近期研究进展北大核心CSCD

甲烷合成甲醇的方法包括间接法和直接催化氧化(DMTM)法,但是间接法对设备要求高,且甲烷转化率与甲醇选择性均不理想,DMTM法可通过一步反应高选择性制备甲醇,有巨大的应用潜力。对于甲烷DMTM法合成甲醇,均相催化体系通常需要特殊反应介质与贵金属催化剂相结合,虽然反应效率高,但对反应设备有腐蚀性,产物不易分离,应用前景差。液相-异相催化一般使用H_(2)O_(2)作为氧化剂,Au、Pd、Fe和Cu等金属元素作为催化剂主要活性组分,·OH是主要的氧化活性物,可在低温下实现甲烷的活化氧化。因此,异相催化体系是目前研究的主流。气相-异相催化主要使用O_(2)和N_(2)O为氧化剂,前者氧化性更强,后者对于产品选择性更好,此外,厌氧体系中H_(2)O也可直接作为氧供体,常用Cu、Fe、Rh等元素作为催化剂。沸石分子筛是使用最广泛的载体,金属氧化物、金属有机骨架化合物(MOFs)和石墨烯也均有涉及,多金属协同催化已经取得了很好的效果。本文主要总结与概述了热催化甲烷直接催化氧化制备甲醇的近年相关研究,并对今后的研究方向做出了展望。     

一步火焰辅助热解法制备Fe掺杂嵌碳TiO2及其光催化性能

以钛酸四丁酯、无水乙醇和无水氯化铁为前驱体,通过一步火焰辅助热解法制备了Fe掺杂嵌碳TiO₂,并研究了样品的光催化活性. 利用扫描电子显微镜及能谱、X射线光电子能谱、X射线粉末衍射和紫外-可见漫反射吸收光谱等对样品的形貌、组分、晶型和光吸收进行了表征,并研究了样品在紫外和可见光下的光催化活性. 结果表明,无需后续热处理可直接得到主要是锐钛矿相TiO₂的样品,Fe³⁺以替位掺杂形式进入TiO₂晶格,随掺杂量增加,样品在可见光区域的吸光度提高,吸收带边红移. Fe掺杂量（摩尔分数）小于0.2%可改善样品的光催化活性,当Fe掺杂量为0.1%时,样品在可见光和紫外-可见光照射下均显示出最高的降解亚甲基蓝速率.     

碳包覆Pd/TiO2光催化产氢协同胺类选择性氧化合成亚胺(英文)

负载型金属纳米催化剂由于其优异的光催化性能,被广泛应用于光催化产氢协同胺类氧化偶联合成高附加值亚胺体系。但在反应过程中,金属表面对H原子和亚胺表现出较强的吸附能力,导致了亚胺易于发生自氢化反应而生成仲胺,显著降低了亚胺的选择性。在本文中,我们证实了在Pd/Ti O₂表面构建超薄碳层(Pd/Ti O₂@C)是一种解决上述问题的有效策略。在Pd/Ti O₂表面构筑的超薄碳层可以有效调控H原子和亚胺在其表面的吸附行为,避免了光催化氧化偶联过程中亚胺的自氢化。因此,Pd/Ti O₂@C光催化剂在光催化产氢协同胺类选择性氧化合成亚胺体系中展现出优异的亚胺选择性。本研究提供了一种便捷有效的策略推动负载型金属纳米催化剂在光催化产氢协同合成高附加值产物体系中的应用。     

简单浸渍法制备纳米CuO/TiO2及其光催化剂活性

以Cu(NO₃)₂·3H₂O和P25为前躯体,通过简单浸渍法制备了CuO/TiO₂光催化剂,利用N₂物理吸附、XRD、TEM、UV-vis漫反射光谱分析了催化剂的结构特性。研究了Cu组分的负载量、催化剂在反应液中的分散量、催化剂焙烧温度、反应液中甲醇浓度对CuO/TiO₂光催化反应产氢活性的影响,并考察了催化剂的稳定性,提出了该体系光催化反应的机理。结果表明,Cu的适宜负载量为2.0%~7.5%(质量分数),在Cu质量分数2.0%、催化剂焙烧温度350℃、甲醇的体积浓度为10%、催化剂分散量为1.0 g/L时,产氢活性可达到1 022 μmol/(h·g),并且该催化剂具有较好的稳定性。     

基于立方烷结构的分子催化剂在光催化水氧化中的研究进展

随着化石燃料大量使用带来的气候变化和环境污染问题日趋严重,寻找清洁高效的可再生能源用做传统化石燃料的替代品,已经成为当前的研究热点。光驱动的水分解反应被认为是太阳能制氢的可行途径。水的全分解包括两个半反应-水的氧化和质子还原。其中水的氧化反应是一个涉及四个电子和四个质子转移的复杂过程,需要很高的活化能,被认为是全分解水反应的瓶颈步骤。因此,开发高效、稳定、廉价丰产的水氧化催化剂是人工光合作用突破的关键因素。立方烷具有类似自然界光合作用酶光系统II(PSII)活性中心Mn_4CaO_5簇的结构,世界各国的科学家受自然界光合作用的启发,开发出了许多基于过渡金属的立方烷结构的催化剂,常见的有锰、钴和铜等立方烷催化剂。本文简要地综述了近年来立方烷分子催化剂在光催化水氧化中的研究进展。首先介绍了立方烷基光催化水氧化反应历程,继而详细介绍了基于有机配体的立方烷配合物和全无机的多金属氧酸盐立方烷水氧化催化剂,其次是半导体(BiVO4或聚合的氮化碳(PCN))为捕光材料复合立方烷分子催化剂的水氧化体系最新研究进展。最后总结并展望了该领域所面临的挑战及其前景。     

Inhibition of photooxidation of iron(II) by some semiconductors

The photooxidation of iron(II) in aqueous ethanol is less in presence of TiO₂, ZrO₂, V₂O₅, CeO₂, ZnO, Fe₂O₃, CdO, PbO, SnO₂, CdS, ZnS and Al₂O₃ than in their absence. The photogeneration of iron(III) was studied at different [Fe²⁺], amounts of semiconductors suspended, airflow rates, light intensities, solvent compositions and wavelengths of illumination. The catalysts show sustainable photocatalytic activity. The metal oxides and sulfides reduce iron(III), formed by the homogeneous photooxidation of iron(II). TiO₂, CeO₂, ZnO, Fe₂O₃, CdO, PbO, SnO₂ and Al₂O₃ effectively suppress the photooxidation of iron(II); ZrO₂, ZnS and CdS also suppress but not completely. At high catalyst-loading V₂O₅ catalyses the photooxidation of iron(II). The mechanisms of the photocatalytic processes are discussed.     

Keggin型铬取代的磷钨杂多阴离子/二氧化钛纳米膜光催化剂的制备及可见光催化性能

以钛酸四丁酯Ti(OC₄H₉)₄为TiO₂前驱体,Keggin型铬取代的杂多阴离子PW₁₁Cr为可见光活性组分,采用溶胶-凝胶提拉法在玻片表面制备了PW₁₁Cr/TiO₂纳米膜光催化剂,并用UV-Vis DRS、IR、XRD、SEM和TEM等技术手段对催化剂的光吸收性质、化学组成、晶相和表面结构形貌等进行了表征;讨论了膜中PW₁₁Cr和TiO₂相互作用的方式;以染料模型污染物RhB的可见光催化降解为探针,评估了PW₁₁Cr/TiO₂光催化剂的可见光催化活性,讨论了光催化反应机理,并与TiO₂的光催化反应机理进行了比较;考察了焙烧温度、PW₁₁Cr剂量和溶液pH值对光催化活性的影响;最后用RhB的循环降解实验评估了催化剂的光催化稳定性。 实验结果表明,PW₁₁Cr/TiO₂光催化剂对可见光有明显吸收,较低焙烧温度(100 ℃)下得到的膜为无定形结构,而较高焙烧温度(500 ℃)为纳晶结构;前者的光催化活性较高,在200 W金卤灯照射下降解10 μmol/L RhB,120 min的降解率为95%,4 h的COD去除率为72%;羟基自由基是导致RhB降解的主要氧活性物质;低的膜处理温度,高的PW₁₁Cr负载量和溶液酸性有利于提高PW₁₁Cr/TiO₂膜的光催化活性;经循环重复使用10次,PW₁₁Cr/TiO₂膜的光催化活性仅有较少损失。     

铋掺杂介孔二氧化钛的制备及光催化动力学

以介孔分子筛(KIT-6)为载体,采用溶液浸渍法合成了铋(Bi)掺杂的介孔二氧化钛(TiO₂)光催化剂。利用XRD、TEM、SEM、XPS、N₂吸附-脱附法和拉曼光谱法等技术手段对材料的结构和形貌进行表征。通过紫外-可见吸收光谱法考察了催化剂对罗丹明B光催化降解效率,进一步考察了Bi的掺杂量对光催化反应速率的影响,并对光催化降解动力学进行了初步研究。结果表明,Bi掺杂的介孔TiO₂具有较窄的孔径分布(3~4 nm),而且吸收范围扩展到可见光区,其光催化活性明显高于商品TiO₂(P25)。随之Bi掺杂量的提高,反应速率常数也增大,其光催化降解罗丹明B的反应均符合准一级动力学方程。     

纳米TiO_(2)光催化抗菌应用的研究进展北大核心CSCD

光催化纳米TiO_(2)以其出色的光催化、化学稳定性以及广谱抗菌性受到科研人员的青睐。然而,其存在的一些问题,如宽带隙、高过电位和光生载流子快速复合等限制了其光催化性能。本文综述了近年来TiO_(2)光催化在抗菌方面的研究进展。对纳米TiO_(2)光催化抗菌作用机理进行了探讨,并讨论了提高TiO_(2)光催化抗菌活性的几种策略,包括进行纳米TiO_(2)结构设计、光的调控、掺杂金属离子、掺杂非金属离子、贵金属修饰和偶联其他材料。改性TiO_(2)光催化剂显著抑制了细菌细胞的生长,在生物医学工程领域具有独特的应用前景。     

Metal powder addition effect on the photocatalytic reactions and the photo-generated electric charge collected at an inert electrode in aqueous TiO2 suspensions

The photocatalytic reaction in an aqueous TiO₂ suspension has been found to be enhanced by the additiona of some metal powders such as copper, silver, nickel and cobalt into the suspension. Just mixing a metal powder into the suspension gave nearly the same efficiency as metal-loading on the semiconductor particles. The effect is attributed to the rapid transfer of the photogenerated electrons from the TiO₂ to the metal particles, resulting in the effective separation of the electrons and holes.

The photo-current measurements were performed using inert collecting electrodes in the suspensions of TiO₂, where formate was added as a hole scavenger, with and without a metal powder. Higher anodic photocurrent was obtained in the presence of a metal than in its absence, indicating that the metal-mediated electron transfer reaction occurs more effectively from the electron-rich TiO₂ particles to the collecting electrode than the direct discharge of the electron-rich TiO₂ on the collecting electrode.