Photocatalytic gas-liquid products and formation rules/paths of methanol, ethanol and propanol

Photocatalytic alcohols decomposition is of great significance for the preparation of hydrogen and alcohol derivatives. Among which, the improvement of the hydrogen purity is very important for the later utilization. In this study, the photocatalytic gas-liquid products and formation rules/paths with C1-3 alcohols as substrates were summarized, and the reaction mechanisms were inferred based on the cycle experimental data and DFT calculation. For gaseous products, CH 4 , CO, C 2 H 4 or C 2 H 6 were also detected during the photocatalyzed alcohols decomposition in addition to hydrogen. The hydrogen yield from photocatalytic decomposition of isopropyl alcohol reached 65.98 mmol/g within 6 h, and it was proved to be the best substrate for hydrogen production due to the lowest CO content. For liquid products, the selectivity of acetal produced from ethanol can up to 99%. This work could facilitate the development of photocatalytic alcohol decomposition to produce higher purity hydrogen coupled with higher value-added liquid products.