ORCID
- Vannia C. dos Santos‐Durndell: 0000-0001-9955-1184
- Lee J. Durndell: 0000-0002-2391-5233
Abstract
2.5% of global carbon emissions result from air travel, underscoring the need for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) derived from second-generation lignocellulosic biomass to enhance the green credentials of the aviation sector. This study demonstrates the first solvent-free photocatalytic conversion of furfural (FAL) and cyclopentanone (CPO) to produce 2,5-bis(2-furylmethylidene)cyclopentanone (F2Cp), a jet fuel precursor, using Ti-SBA-15 catalysts, synthesized via alkoxide grafting and controlled titanium surface coverage. Sub-monolayer titania films on SBA-15 supports are achieved with tuneable Ti content, confirmed by XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), UPS (ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy), REELS (reflectance electron energy loss spectroscopy), ISS (ion scattering spectroscopy), and Raman analysis. XPS analyses reveal coverage-dependent Ti speciation, transitioning from isolated Ti atoms to interconnected Ti-O-Ti networks, with corresponding shifts in Auger parameters, indicating increased surface polarizability and Lewis acidity. Optimized Ti-SBA-15 catalysts exhibit a fourfold activity enhancement in photocatalytic activity over bulk TiO₂, attributed to improved mass transport, active site accessibility, and surface stability. This work highlights the potential of rationally designed hierarchical catalysts for scalable, energy-efficient biomass valorization into SAF precursors, offering a scalable, energy-efficient pathway for sustainable jet fuel production. By elucidating the structure-function relationships in sub-monolayer Ti-SBA-15 materials, this study provides critical insights for advancing photocatalytic technologies in renewable energy applications.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2025-07-16
Publication Title
Advanced Functional Materials
ISSN
1616-301X
Acceptance Date
2025-05-29
Deposit Date
2025-08-07
Funding
The authors thank the EPSRC (grants EP/Y023587/1, EP/Y023609/1, EP/Y023536/1, EP/Y023552/1 and EP/Y023544/1 – National Facility for XPS (“HarwellXPS”)), RSC (R19‐2791 and M19‐1518), Innovate UK “Flexible, agile, scalable and sustainable medicines Manufacturing” call funding and the University of Plymouth's R&D solutions fund for facilitating this work. The authors would like to thank the UCL MAPS summer internship scheme/Ivan Parkin, The Dean of MAPS at UCL for funding the placements of J.L. and S.K. for this project. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Robert Clough and Louise Argent for their help with ICP‐MS and GC analyses, respectively (UoP). The authors would like to thank Gavin Stenning for help with SAXS analysis in the Materials Characterisation Laboratory at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. The authors appreciate the award of instrument time at the Diamond Light Source B07 beamline under proposal SI40403‐1.
Additional Links
Keywords
hierarchical titania, photocatalysis, sustainable aviation fuels
Recommended Citation
Isaacs, M., Drivas, C., Graf, A., Kroon, S., Kumar, S., Liu, J., Torres‐Lopez, A., Price, C., Garland, E., Lezcano‐Gonzalez, I., Parlett, C., dos Santos‐Durndell, V., & Durndell, L. (2025) 'Understanding the Chemical and Electronic Properties of Sub-Monolayer TiO₂ on High Surface Area Silica for Jet Fuel Synthesis Applications', Advanced Functional Materials, . Available at: 10.1002/adfm.202502818
