Photodehydrogenation of Ethanol over Cu2O/TiO2 Heterostructures.

Congcong Xing,Maria Chiara Spadaro,Jordi Llorca,Andreu Cabot,Yu Zhang,Xiang Wang,Yongpeng Liu,Junshan Li,Jordi Arbiol,Pablo Guardia,Paulina R Martínez-Alanis

doi:10.3390/nano11061399

Abstract

The photodehydrogenation of ethanol is a sustainable and potentially cost-effective strategy to produce hydrogen and acetaldehyde from renewable resources. The optimization of this process requires the use of highly active, stable and selective photocatalytic materials based on abundant elements and the proper adjustment of the reaction conditions, including temperature. In this work, Cu2O-TiO2 type-II heterojunctions with different Cu2O amounts are obtained by a one-pot hydrothermal method. The structural and chemical properties of the produced materials and their activity toward ethanol photodehydrogenation under UV and visible light illumination are evaluated. The Cu2O-TiO2 photocatalysts exhibit a high selectivity toward acetaldehyde production and up to tenfold higher hydrogen evolution rates compared to bare TiO2. We further discern here the influence of temperature and visible light absorption on the photocatalytic performance. Our results point toward the combination of energy sources in thermo-photocatalytic reactors as an efficient strategy for solar energy conversion.

Highlights

Molecular hydrogen, a clean energy carrier and a key component in the chemical industry, is mostly produced through partial oxidation and steam reforming of natural gas and coal gasification
The main X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks of all patterns could be indexed with the tetragonal anatase TiO2 phase (JCPDS No 01-071-1167)
2θ = 36.4◦ and 42.3◦ were identified in the Cu2 O/TiO2 samples containing 1% and higher

Summary

Introduction

A clean energy carrier and a key component in the chemical industry, is mostly produced through partial oxidation and steam reforming of natural gas and coal gasification. To move away from the exploitation of fossil fuels, cost- and energy-effective strategies for the direct production of hydrogen from renewable sources need to be defined. In this context, biomass resources are a compelling alternative source of hydrogen owing to their renewable character and their near net-zero CO2 footprint [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Among the possible dehydrogenation processes, photocatalytic routes that make use of ubiquitous, abundant and renewable solar energy are especially attractive.

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Conclusion