Harnessing metal-metal interactions for simultaneously boosting photocatalytic hydrogen and benzaldehyde production

The metal–metal interactions between different metal atoms within dual-metal-supported catalyst have garnered significant attention in effectively regulating the chemical and electronic structure of active sites, thus providing enormous opportunities to optimize the catalytic performance. Herein, by loading Cu clusters and Pd nanoparticles on TiO 2 (CuPd/TiO 2 ), it is found that Cu clusters enable the metalize transformation of Pd as a result of the metal–metal interactions between Cu and Pd, which remarkably improves the surface catalytic reaction as well as the separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers. The resultant photocatalyst exhibits an excellent activity for H 2 evolution coupled with benzyl alcohol oxidation, achieving yield rates of 43.7 μmol h −1 for H 2 and 22.0 μmol h −1 for benzaldehyde, and an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 20.4 % at 313 nm for hydrogen evolution. This integration of metal–metal interactions within the dual-metal-supported catalyst open a new avenue for the design of advanced photocatalysts.