Influence of Thermal Activation of Titania on Photoreactivity of Pt/TiO2 in Hydrogen Production

A series of Pt/TiO 2 photocatalysts was prepared by impregnation of fresh and thermal-activated titania (commercial Evonik Aeroxide P25 TiO 2 ) with an aqueous solution of H 2 PtCl 6 followed by reduction in an aqueous solution of NaBH 4 . The thermal activation was performed by annealing in air. The photocatalytic activity of the Pt/TiO 2 catalysts was measured for the hydrogen production from a mixture of glycerol under UV radiation. It was found that the activation at 300–600 °C provides an increase in the photoreactivity of resulting Pt/TiO 2 photocatalysts in the production of hydrogen while its structural and textural properties do not change. This effect is due to formation of cationic vacancies that limits fast electron–hole recombination. Graphic Abstract