Engineering the coordination structure of Cu for enhanced photocatalytic production of C1 chemicals from glucose

ABSTRACT Photocatalytic decomposition of sugars is a promising way of providing H 2 , CO, and HCOOH as sustainable energy vectors. However, the production of C 1 chemicals requires the cleavage of robust C−C bonds in sugars with concurrent production of H 2 , which remains challenging. Here, the photocatalytic activity for glucose decomposition to HCOOH, CO (C 1 chemicals), and H 2 on Cu/TiO 2 was enhanced by nitrogen doping. Owing to nitrogen doping, atomically dispersed and stable Cu sites resistant to light irradiation are formed on Cu/TiO 2 . The electronic interaction between Cu and nitrogen ions originates valence band structure and defect levels composed of N 2 p orbit, distinct from undoped Cu/TiO 2 . Therefore, the lifetime of charge carriers is prolonged, resulting in the production of C 1 chemicals and H 2 with productivities 1.7 and 2.1 folds that of Cu/TiO 2 . This work provides a strategy to design coordinatively stable Cu ions for photocatalytic biomass conversion.