Selective photocatalytic conversion of glycerol to hydroxyacetaldehyde in aqueous solution on facet tuned TiO2-based catalysts

Glycerol is selectively converted to hydroxyacetaldehyde (HAA) and H-2 in aqueous solution on TiO2-based photocatalysts. The product selectivity was verified to be strongly dependent on the facets of TiO2. Rutile with high percentage of {110} facets results in over 90% superior selectivity of HAA, while anatase with {001} or {101} facets gives only 16% and 49% selectivity for HAA, respectively