Visible‐Light‐Driven Lignin Valorization into Value‐Added Chemicals and Sustainable Hydrogen Using Zn1‐xCdxS Solid Solutions as Photocatalyst

Abstract

AbstractBiomass photorefinery for simultaneous production of value‐added chemicals and sustainable hydrogen holds promising perspective to achieve a negative carbon economy. However, insight into lignin valorization by the photorefinery approach is still lacking due to the extremely complex structure and component. In this work, we design a series of Zn1‐xCdxS solid solutions as photocatalyst to reveal the photocatalytic mechanism for model component conversion. Bandgap engineering by changing the Zn/Cd ratio is proven to efficiently regulate the reaction pathway. Specifically, Zn0.75Cd0.25S (ZCS25) presented the best performance for hydrogen evolution (610±105 μmol h−1 gcat.−1) while Zn0.5Cd0.5S (ZCS50) demonstrated the best substrate conversion to monophenolic compounds. Besides, the well‐designed Zn1‐xCdxS solid solutions also show the ability to produce hydrogen and eliminate a methoxy group from real lignin by the photorefinery approach. This present work demonstrates a good example of biomass valorization by careful design of photocatalysts.