Vol.:(0123456789)
Topics in Current Chemistry (2019) 377:24
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-019-0248-1
1 3
REVIEW
Characterization of Photo‑catalysts: From Traditional
to Advanced Approaches
Uriel Caudillo‑Flores
1
· Irene Barba‑Nieto
1
· Mario J. Muñoz‑Batista
2
·
Anna Kubacka
1
· Marcos Fernández‑García
1
Received: 2 March 2019 / Accepted: 16 August 2019 / Published online: 29 August 2019
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract
The article provides an overview of the most relevant characterization results of heterogeneous photo-catalytic materials available in the literature. First, we present a
summary of the ex situ utilization of physico-chemical characterization techniques.
In the majority of current works, pre and post-reaction samples are subjected to ex
situ analysis using a multitechnique approach which attempts to render information about the morphological, structural, and electronic properties of relevance to
interpret photoactivity. Details of the effects on physico-chemical observables of the
nanostructure and the complex chemical nature (considering mono and multiphase
materials with presence of several chemical elements) of typical photo-catalysts will
be analyzed. Modern studies however emphasize the use of in situ tools in order to
establish activity–structure links. To this end, the first point to pay attention to is to
consider carefully the interaction between light and matter at the reaction cell where
the characterization is carried out. Operando and spectro-kinetic methodologies will
be reviewed as they would render valuable and trusting results and thus will pave the
way for the future developments in photocatalysis.
Keywords Spectroscopy · Kinetics · In situ · Operando · Spectro-kinetic ·
Multitechnique approach
* Anna Kubacka
ak@icp.csic.es
* Marcos Fernández-García
mfg@icp.csic.es
1
Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica CSIC, Marie Curie 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
2
Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de Córdoba, Edif. Marie Curie, Ctra Nnal
IV-A, Km 396, 14014 Córdoba, Spain
163
Reprinted from the journal
Chapter 5 was originally published as Caudillo‑Flores, U., Barba‑Nieto, I., Muñoz‑Batista, M. J., Kubacka, A.
& Fernández‑García, M. Topics in Current Chemistry (2019) 377: 24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-0190248-1.
Topics in Current Chemistry (2019) 377:24
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-019-0248-1
1 3
REVIEW
Characterization of Photo‑catalysts: From Traditional
to Advanced Approaches
Uriel Caudillo‑Flores
1
· Irene Barba‑Nieto
1
· Mario J. Muñoz‑Batista
2
·
Anna Kubacka
1
· Marcos Fernández‑García
1
Received: 2 March 2019 / Accepted: 16 August 2019 / Published online: 29 August 2019
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract
The article provides an overview of the most relevant characterization results of heterogeneous photo-catalytic materials available in the literature. First, we present a
summary of the ex situ utilization of physico-chemical characterization techniques.
In the majority of current works, pre and post-reaction samples are subjected to ex
situ analysis using a multitechnique approach which attempts to render information about the morphological, structural, and electronic properties of relevance to
interpret photoactivity. Details of the effects on physico-chemical observables of the
nanostructure and the complex chemical nature (considering mono and multiphase
materials with presence of several chemical elements) of typical photo-catalysts will
be analyzed. Modern studies however emphasize the use of in situ tools in order to
establish activity–structure links. To this end, the first point to pay attention to is to
consider carefully the interaction between light and matter at the reaction cell where
the characterization is carried out. Operando and spectro-kinetic methodologies will
be reviewed as they would render valuable and trusting results and thus will pave the
way for the future developments in photocatalysis.
Keywords Spectroscopy · Kinetics · In situ · Operando · Spectro-kinetic ·
Multitechnique approach
* Anna Kubacka
ak@icp.csic.es
* Marcos Fernández-García
mfg@icp.csic.es
1
Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica CSIC, Marie Curie 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
2
Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de Córdoba, Edif. Marie Curie, Ctra Nnal
IV-A, Km 396, 14014 Córdoba, Spain
163
Reprinted from the journal
Chapter 5 was originally published as Caudillo‑Flores, U., Barba‑Nieto, I., Muñoz‑Batista, M. J., Kubacka, A.
& Fernández‑García, M. Topics in Current Chemistry (2019) 377: 24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-0190248-1.