Efficient hydrogen production by selective alcohol photoreforming on plasmonic photocatalyst comprising sandwiched Au nanodisks and TiO2

A nanocomposite comprising gold nanodisks (Au NDs) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanophases sandwiched between zeolite nanosheets was fabricated for hydrogen production by plasmonic photocatalytic reforming of methanol. The inter-sheet space between zeolite nanosheets served as nanoconfinement for forming the edge-attached domains of Au NDs/TiO2. Benefiting from the anisotropic shape of Au NDs and their edge attachment with TiO2, the nanocomposite exhibited superior photoactivity for visible light ( > 400 nm)-driven photo-reforming of methanol and the hydrogen production rate was (similar to)24 times higher than that of the benchmark Au@P25 photocatalyst. Moreover, experimental results suggest that zeolite nanosheets effectively gated the access to the surface of Au NDs and allowed only methanol but not higher alcohols to react to produce hydrogen. Gradual deactivation was observed during methanol photoreforming, a phenomenon shown to be attributed to the chemisorbed CO accumulated on Au in the absence of oxygen.