H ₂ production by the photocatalytic reforming of cellulose and raw biomass using Ni, Pd, Pt and Au on titania

Abstract

Here, we report a method for sustainable hydrogen production using sunlight and biomass. It is shown that cellulose can be photoreformed to produce hydrogen, even in solid form, by use of metal-loaded titania photocatalysts. The experiments performed verified that the process is enabled by initial hydrolysis via glucose, which itself is shown to be efficiently converted to produce hydrogen by photocatalysis. Importantly, it is shown that not only precious metals such as Pt, Pd and Au can be used as the metal component, but also much more economic and less environmentally damaging Ni is effective. Even more importantly, we show for the first time, to the best our knowledge, that fescue grass as raw biomass can be effective for hydrogen production without significant pre-treatment. This provides additional benefits for the efficiency of biomass hydrogen production, because fewer processing steps for the raw material are required than in the production of purer forms of cellulose, for example.

Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production: A Rift into the Future Energy Supply

“…In addition to glucose, Caravaca et al. recently demonstrated that H 2 may be efficiently produced directly from the photocatalytic reforming of cellulose using noble‐metal and Ni loaded TiO 2 . The authors suggested that hydrolysis of cellulose into glucose is the first step in the photoreforming process.…”

Enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activities of CdS nanowires by surface modification with MoS2 nanosheets

“…When glucose and lactic acid are used as sacrificial agents together, the photogenerated holes in CdS can react with OH − , producing OH • radicals. The OH • radicals then react rapidly with glucose, which leads to the formation of carboxylic acid (H−COOH) and finally CO 2 and H + [48]. In this process, the OH • radicals are consumed and protons are produced simultaneously, resulting in a higher H 2 production [9,49] (pathway II).…”

Solar Hydrogen Generation from Lignocellulose

“…[11a] Other cocatalysts (Rh, [13] Ru, [13b,14] Pd, [15] Au) [13b,15b,16] showed enhanced activity,with AuPd/TiO 2 reaching 8.8 mmol H 2 g cat À1 h À1 and 17.5 %EQE. [17] Non-precious co-catalysts (Ni, [15b,18] Fe, [19] Cu) [13a] improved activity [15a] and allowed quantitative H 2 yield.…”