Discrimination of the active crystalline phases in anatase–rutile mixed titanium(iv) oxide photocatalysts through action spectrum analyses

The active crystalline phases in powdered titanium(IV) oxide (TiO2) photocatalysts of anatase–rutile mixtures were investigated by measuring the action spectra of the photocatalytic reactions of H2 evolution, Ag deposition and acetic acid decomposition. All of the pure anatase powders used in this study gave action spectra for the three kinds of reaction that were blue-shifted by about 30 nm from those of the pure rutile powders, being consistent with their photoabsorption behavior observed in the diffuse reflectance spectra. On the other hand, the action spectra of the mixed TiO2 powders varied, depending both on the kind of photocatalytic reaction and the content of the crystalline phases. In the case of H2 evolution, the action spectra were intermediate between those of the pure anatase and rutile phases and were shifted toward that of the rutile phase with a decrease in the content of the anatase phase; i.e., the action spectra are governed mainly by the photoabsorption of each powder. The Ag deposition and acetic acid decomposition reactions gave action spectra of the mixed TiO2 powders that were similar to those of pure rutile and anatase phases, respectively, regardless of the content of the crystalline phases; the active phase in the former was rutile while that in the latter was anatase, even when these active phases were only minor parts of the mixed powder. The results indicate that the active crystalline phase differs with the kind of photocatalytic reaction even if the same mixed TiO2 powders were used as photocatalysts.