Hydrogen Production via Methanol Photocatalysis on Au/Rutile-TiO₂(110)

Abstract

Obtaining a molecular-level understanding of hydrogen production from alcohols with model catalysts is critical for improving industrial catalytic hydrogen production processes. In this work, hydrogen production from photocatalytic methanol dissociation on an Au/rutile(R)-TiO2(110) surface has been systematically investigated. With Au clusters on R-TiO2(110), methanol molecules can easily dissociate into methoxy groups and hydrogen atoms at <150 K. Upon irradiation, the dissociation of methanol and methoxy groups into formaldehyde and hydrogen atoms is most likely to occur at the five-coordinated Ti4+ sites (Ti5c) far away from the Au clusters. Then, molecular hydrogen production on the Au clusters or at the Au/R-TiO2(110) interface is accomplished via a thermal activation at <300 K. More importantly, methanol plays a crucial role in hydrogen atom diffusion for efficient hydrogen production. Our findings provide an insightful understanding of hydrogen production from alcohols at a molecular level.