Fundamental reactions in TiO2 nanocrystallite aqueous solutions studied by pulse radiolysis

Reactions of the hydrated electron, H atoms, 2-propanol, and methanol radicals with the TiO2 nano-particles have been studied either directly or by competition kinetics. The radicals were produced by radiolysis of 2-propanol, t-butanol, or methanol aqueous solutions in acid pH's. The reactions involve electron injection to the conduction band. As expected, the t-butanol radical is inert towards TiO2 under our conditions, while the other reducing radicals react with TiO2. The reactivity decreases in the order: eaq->H>CH3COHCH3>CH2OH. Two TiO2 nanocrystallite sizes, with average diameters of 1.0 and 4.7 nm were compared. For equal concentrations (in terms of TiO2 molecules), the rate of electron injection shows relatively little dependency on particle size. The rates of interfacial electron transfer and transfer coefficient are also reported