Introducing microcrystalline cellulose to reinforce the stability of anatase TiO2 for photocatalytic hydrogen production from simulated seawater

Anatase TiO 2 (A-TiO 2 ) is regarded as one of the best photocatalysts for hydrogen production technology. However, it presents a formidable challenge for application in seawater splitting process, because of the poisoning effect induced by Cl − oxidation. Herein, a simple strategy of incorporating microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) into the photocatalytic seawater splitting system is proposed to address this issue. The addition of MCC can prevent the Cl − oxidation, inducing the Pt/A-TiO 2 photocatalyst to exhibit a superior stability and a higher H 2 production rate of 113.5 μmol g −1  h −1 . In contrast, without MCC, it only exhibits an H 2 evolution rate of 36.2 μmol g −1  h −1 and experiences an obvious decline to 16.6 μmol g −1  h −1 during the subsequent cycle experiments. These findings demonstrate the feasibility to protect photocatalyst from Cl − oxidation corrosion by applying MCC, which is expected to achieve a stable photocatalytic hydrogen production in seawater.