The three phase interface composite was designed for hydrogen production by photocatalytic reforming of glucose

Photocatalytic reforming of glucose can simultaneously produce hydrogen (H 2 ) and high value-added biochemicals, which can alleviate energy shortages and environmental crises. In this study, a powder photocatalyst of 1.5 % Pt supported titanium dioxide (1.5 %Pt/TiO 2 ) was employed for the photoreforming of glucose to generate H 2 . The H 2 evolution is only 2.03 mmol/g/h. This is primarily attributed to the sluggish delivery of reactants, challenges in recovery, and inadequate utilization of light energy within the traditional photocatalytic system. These issues not only impede the efficiency of photocatalytic reactions but also pose obstacles to large-scale practical applications. To overcome these drawbacks, we designed a recyclable hydrophilic floating hydrogel device that 1.5 %Pt/TiO 2 was used as filler and floating sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel was self-assembled into a composite material 1.5 %Pt/TiO 2 /SA, and the gas-solid-liquid three-phase interface (TPI) was formed in the process in glucose photoreforming to produce H 2 . The results show that the H 2 evolution of 1.5 %Pt/TiO 2 /SA is 6.16 mmol/g/h from the glucose aqueous solution, which is ∼154-fold and∼3.0-fold those of TiO 2 and 1.5 %Pt/TiO 2 , respectively. This is mainly because the unique TPI can enhance the temperament transport ability and photogenerated carrier separation. In addition, photocatalytic mechanism studies have shown that in the process in glucose photoreforming, glucose is first oxidized to arabinose by holes, and then arabinose is converted to lactic acid and acetic acid. Finally, the composite material with TPI proposed by us also lays a certain foundation for the future photocatalytic reforming of glucose.