Mechanistic in-Situ Study of Photoinduced Interfacial Electron Transfer, Charging and Discharging of One-Pot Prepared Cu-TiO2

Repeated photoinduced charge transfer semiconductor → metal was detected in Cu(0)-V(O)-TiO₂ nanocolloid for photocatalytic reforming of alcohols. Formation and discharge of nanocolloid e-Cu(0)-V(O)-TiO₂ was demonstrated by complementary in-situ UV-Vis spectroscopy and wavelength- and time-dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy. Proposed multi-experimental approach is useful to study interfacial charge transfer in photocatalysts and catalysts.