Hydrogen, as a clean and efficient energy carrier, plays a crucial role in achieving "carbon neutrality". However, traditional hydrogen production methods often rely on fossil fuels and generate a large amount of carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, it is urgent to develop technologies that utilize renewable resources for hydrogen production. Woody biomass, as one of the most abundant renewable resources on Earth, holds great potential.
Methods
Prof. Yong-Jun Yuan's team from Hangzhou Dianzi University, in collaboration with Prof. Zhen-Tao Yu's team from Nanjing University, designed ultrasmall titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticle photocatalysts using defect engineering. By introducing oxygen vacancy defects into the TiO2 nanoparticles and combining them with platinum nanoclusters as cocatalysts, they achieved highly efficient conversion of woody biomass to hydrogen.
Highlights
High Efficiency: The catalyst achieves a hydrogen production rate of 1146 μmol/h/g in a cellulose system, far exceeding that of traditional TiO2 catalysts. Stability: The catalyst maintains high activity after multiple cycles of testing. Applicability: The catalyst is effective not only for cellulose but also for real wood chips.
Promoting Clean Energy Development: This technology provides an effective way to utilize solar energy and biomass for hydrogen production, helping to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and promote clean energy development. Achieving Carbon Neutrality: Converting biomass to hydrogen can effectively reduce carbon emissions and contribute to achieving "carbon neutrality". Promoting Resource Recycling: This technology can convert waste woody biomass into high-value hydrogen, achieving resource recycling.
Fig. 1. (a) Photograph for outdoor solar photocatalytic conversion of α-cellulose to H2. (b) Outdoor solar photocatalytic conversion of α-cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin to H2 ver 0.5% Pt/VO-TiO2-200 photocatalyst. (c) Photocatalytic conversion of poplar wood chip to H2 under 300 W Xe lamp irradiation. (d) Recycling test of 0.5% Pt/VO-TiO2-200 photocatalyst for H2 production from poplar wood chip under 300 W Xe lamp irradiation. (e) ESR spectrum of the DMPO-OH in the presence of VO-TiO2-200. (f) Photocatalytic H2 production performance comparison between this work and other reported TiO2-based photocatalysts.
Authors
