Use of Cellulose for the Production of Photocatalytic Films for Hydrogen Evolution Along the Lines of Paper Production

Following the example of photovoltaics, one approach to large-scale photocatalytic hydrogen production is the irradiation of a correspondingly large catalyst area. Paper production is a process in which large areas can already be produced based on the main component: cellulose. Herein, the TiO2 photocatalyst modification PC500, which also uses platinum nanoparticles as a cocatalyst, is supported in two different ways using cellulose. On the one hand, the catalyst is fixed to the surface of a commercial filter paper and, on the other hand, a photocatalytic paper is produced. For comparison, the catalyst is immobilized by means of drop coating using Nafion andmeasured as a suspension. The cellulose-stabilized films are active and hydrogen production is comparable with the activity obtained from the drop-coating method. The experiments show that the aggregation behavior of cellulose can be used to produce photocatalytically active films. The preparation is easy and can be applied to different kinds of (photo)catalysts. Although the films are very active, their stability during reaction due to swelling and hydrogen production must be further improved.

Automated summary

In this study, cellulose-supported TiO2 photocatalysts were prepared to produce active films for hydrogen production, which showed comparable activity to traditional drop-coating methods. The aggregation behavior of cellulose was utilized to produce photocatalytically active films, providing a simple and versatile method for different types of (photo)catalysts. However, further improvements are needed to enhance the stability of the films during reaction.