Development of doped-TiO2/WO3 photocatalysts for methane conversion into value-added chemicals coupled with hydrogen evolution from water

• Grant number: 21/01896-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2021
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Estevam Vitorio Spinacé
• Grantee: Saulo do Amaral Carminati
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN). Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Company: Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN)
• Associated research grant: 17/11937-4 - A sustainable path to methane conversion by advanced electrochemical technologies, AP.PCPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/01980-0 - In situ and operando studies during thermocatalytic and photocatalytic conversion of methane into value-added chemicals: gas- and liquid-phase reactions with solid photocatalysts, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

With the increasing concern about environmental issues and climate change, the negative impact of methane emission rates has attracted considerable attention. Methane, as the principal constituent of natural gas, has been recently used as a fuel and is an important raw material in many industrial chemical processes. The dissociation of the first C-H bond in methane is considered the rate-limiting step prior to its activation and to achieve this, temperature of at least hundreds of degress Celsius is normally needed. Recently, a growing number of researches focusing on Photocatalytic Non-Oxidative Coupling of Methane (PNOCM) under mild conditions has been observed. PNOCM systems have been considered a compelling approach for sustainable and economically technology to produce high-added value chemicals (such as ethane and ethylene) and hydrogen due to its advantages of low temperature of operation, low pressure, energy-saving and environmental protection. By employing efficient photocatalysts with appropriate active sites, methane conversion reactions that are thermodynamically unfavorable can be feasibly mediated by solar energy and produce high chemical potential products. Therefore, exploring low- or room-temperature methane conversion systems is a promising approach to lower the energy comsumption and the reactor cost for commercial applications. However, slow progress in discovering new and prospective catalysts to circumvent problems associated with dependence of high temperatures, low selectivity and stability have hindered further development. We aim to synthesize doped-TiO2/WO3 with the presence of different co-catalysts to obtain efficient photocatalysts for PNOCM. To date, studies focusing on the kinetic mechanism of photocatalytic methane conversion in gas phase are quite insufficient. To address the studies and the outcomes of the research, advanced techniques will be used for better understand the mechanisms that take place during PNOCM reactions for designing photocatalysts with better quantum efficiencies. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

JANUARIO, ELIANE R.; CARMINATI, SAULO A.; TOFANELLO, ARYANE; DA SILVA, BRUNO L.; SILVAINO, PATRICIA F.; MACHADO, ARTHUR P.; VAZ, JORGE M.; SPINACE, ESTEVAM V.. Methane conversion coupled with hydrogen production from water using Au/Ga₂O₃ photocatalysts prepared by different methods. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & FUELS, v. 7, n. 17, p. 9-pg., 2023-07-18. (21/01896-4, 18/04595-2, 18/04596-9, 17/11937-4)

SILVAINO, PATRICIA FERREIRA; FERREIRA, JOAO COUTINHO; CARMINATI, SAULO AMARAL; VAZ, JORGE MOREIRA; SPINACE, ESTEVAM VITORIO. Vinasse photoreforming for hydrogen production using Pt/TiO₂ as catalyst under UV irradiation. RSC ADVANCES, v. 15, n. 8, p. 6-pg., 2025-02-19. (21/01896-4)

CARMINATI, SAULO AMARAL; JANUARIO, ELIANE RIBEIRO; MACHADO, ARTHUR PIGNATARO; SILVAINO, PATRICIA FERREIRA; VAZ, JORGE MOREIRA; SPINACE, ESTEVAM VITORIO. Methane conversion and hydrogen production over TiO₂/WO₃/Pt heterojunction photocatalysts. MATERIALS ADVANCES, v. 5, n. 2, p. 8-pg., 2023-11-27. (18/04596-9, 21/01896-4, 23/01980-0, 18/04595-2, 17/11937-4)