Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution over Pt-Pd dual atom sites anchored on TiO2 nanosheets

Photocatalytic hydrogen production from water is a clean and sustainable way of energy regeneration. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have received increasing attention in the field of photocatalysis due to their high catalytic activity, selectivity, stability, and 100% atomic utilization. In this work, we utilized TiO2 with oxygen vacancy (Vo-TiO2) to anchor atomically dispersed Pt and Pd, developing a Vo-TiO2-supported dual atomic catalyst (Pt-Pd SAs/Vo-TiO2). Experiments show the metal atomic sites are stabilized by the oxygen vacancy of TiO2, and the Ti-Pt-Ti structure and the Ti-Pd-Ti structure are constructed. The result shows that the hydrogen production rate of Pt-Pd SAs/Vo-TiO2 is 4 times higher than that of Pt-Pd NPs/TiO2, and its hydrogen production rate is as high as 4241.4 mu mol h(-1) g(cat.)(-1), which greatly reduces catalyst cost and makes photocatalytic water hydrogen production more economical and sustainable. This work provides a new idea for the development of dual single-atom catalysts for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Automated summary

In this study, a dual atomic catalyst supported by Vo-TiO2 was developed to improve the efficiency of photocatalytic hydrogen production. The catalyst shows a higher hydrogen production rate and reduced cost compared to traditional catalysts, providing a new approach for sustainable hydrogen production.