Oxidation of methanol and formaldehyde to CO2 by a photocatalyst with an energy storage ability

A TiO(2)-Ni(OH)(2) bilayer photocatalyst is known as a photocatalyst with energy storage abilities. Oxidative energy from the UV-irradiated TiO(2) underlayer can be stored in the Ni(OH)(2) overlayer. We investigated oxidation and mineralization of methanol and formaldehyde by the stored oxidative energy by mean of gas chromatography. When the methanol concentration in air is as low as 10 ppm, the mass conversion efficiency from methanol to CO(2) is approximately 86%. Formaldehyde can also be oxidized to CO(2) by the stored energy.