Enhancing oxidative dehydrogenation of alcohols for clean hydrogen production fromTiO2-doped photocatalysts under LED irradiation

While hydrogen global demand goes on increasing, green and efficient production of on-demand hydrogen is still needed to compete with current systems based on the use of fossil fuels. Among recent technologies, photocatalytic hydrogen production is a promising alternative, whose scale-up remains limited owing to various reactional parameters impacting the efficiency of the process. In this context, alcohols as liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) constitute a relevant strategy for the production of clean H2 through their oxidative dehydrogenation. The aim of this study was to rationalize conditions for the preparation of TiO2-doped photocatalyst as efficient material for hydrogen production from photoreforming of alcohols in water. The impact of simple engineering parameters was also studied to enhance the catalytic activity, thus allowing to reach an unprecedented hydrogen production rate of 135 600 µmol.g-1.h-1, that could be relevant for further industrial applications. In the optimized conditions, high apparent quantum yield was also achieved.