Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Degradation of Methanol over Uranyl-Anchored Nanoporous MCM-41 and MCM-48

The vapor-phase photodegradation of methanol to carbon dioxide was carried out over uranyl-anchored nanoporous MCM-41 and MCM-48 hosts (designated as UO2(2+)/MCM-41 and UO2(2+)/MCM-48, respectively) under simulated light and ambient conditions. Preliminary results indicate that the photoactivity of the latter is considerably decreased as compared to the former due to the presence of a smaller fraction of photoactive uranyl (UO2(2+)) ions in UO2(2+)/MCM-48.