Spectroscopic Detection of Hydrogen Atom Spillover from Au Nanoparticles Supported on TiO₂:  Use of Conduction Band Electrons

The spillover of atomic hydrogen from supported Au particles on TiO 2 has been studied. IR spectroscopy detects trapped electrons in the TiO 2 lattice produced by the atomic H delivered from the Au. The spillover process is one-half order in P H 2 and the activation energy for H 2 dissociation on Au is 0.52 ± 0.02 eV. It is shown that surface Ti−OH groups are not involved in donating electrons to the trap sites in TiO 2 .