title: Photoinduced desorption of sulfur from gold nanoparticles loaded on metal oxide surfaces.
abstract: We now report photoinduced sulfur desorption from the surfaces of Au nanoparticles loaded on metal oxides. This reaction occurs in water at ordinary temperature and pressure. Nanometer-sized Au particles have been formed on the surfaces of various metal oxides by deposition-precipitation (Au/oxides). Elemental sulfur (S8) is selectively adsorbed on the Au nanoparticle surfaces of Au/oxides in an atomic state at a coverage of (theta) </= 1/3 and in both atomic and molecular states at theta > 1/3. Irradiation (lambdaex > 300 nm) of the sulfur adsorbed Au/anatase TiO2 in water has led to reductive desorption of the sulfurs at room temperature. Electrochemical measurements using Au/oxides indicate that the driving force for this reaction is the photoinduced upward shift of Fermi energy of the metal oxide-supported Au nanoprticles. This study will open up a novel and wide application of heterogeneous photocatalysis for thermal catalysts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kinki University, 3-4-1, Kowakae, Higashi-Osaka, Osaka 577-8502, Japan. h-tada@apch.kindai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tada
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Soejima
authors.forename: Seishiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Hisayoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi