Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production from Aqueous Solutions of Glucose and Xylose over Layered Perovskite-like Oxides HCa2Nb3O10, H2La2Ti3O10 and Their Inorganic-Organic Derivatives

Abstract

Nowadays, the efficient conversion of plant biomass components (alcohols, carbohydrates, etc.) into more energy-intensive fuels, such as hydrogen, is one of the urgent scientific and technological problems. The present study is the first one focused on the photoinduced hydrogen evolution from aqueous D-glucose and D-xylose using layered perovskite-like oxides HCa2Nb3O10, H2La2Ti3O10, and their organically modified derivatives that have previously proven themselves as highly active photocatalysts. The photocatalytic performance was investigated for the bare compounds and products of their surface modification with a 1 mass. % Pt cocatalyst. The photocatalytic experiments followed an innovative scheme including dark stages as well as the control of the reaction suspension’s pH and composition. The study has revealed that the inorganic−organic derivatives of the layered perovskite-like oxides can provide efficient conversion of carbohydrates into hydrogen fuel, being up to 8.3 times more active than the unmodified materials and reaching apparent quantum efficiency of 8.8%. Based on new and previously obtained data, it was shown that the oxides’ interlayer space functions as an additional reaction zone in the photocatalytic hydrogen production and the contribution of this zone to the overall activity is dependent on the steric characteristics of the sacrificial agent used.