Enhanced photoreforming hydrogen production: Pickering interfacial catalysis from a bio-derived biphasic system

Photocatalytic reforming of biomass-derived hydrocarbons and water has been confirmed as an efficient approach for hydrogen production . In this work, anatase TiO 2 based Janus-type catalyst was synthesized by a selective surface modification method to realize Pickering interfacial catalytic hydrogen production through photoreforming of bio-derived biphasic system. The results showed that the Janus-type catalyst possessed a huge potential for promoting hydrogen production in biphasic system. Although the surface electrochemical hydrogen evolution property was examined to be slightly attenuated after surface modification, the as-prepared Janus-type TiO 2 exhibited almost doubled photoreforming H 2 yield at the emulsion interface than that of the bare TiO 2 in conventional biphasic system, and over 10 times higher than that of the bare TiO 2 in pure water. This excellent performance was mainly due to the exposed Janus-type anatase TiO 2 at the interface offering the high accessibility to reactants with larger mass transfer area. The reaction rate was found to be associated with the concentration of Janus-type catalyst which could directly influence the size evolution of emulsion droplet. In cyclic reaction tests, the established Pickering interfacial catalytic hydrogen production system revealed that both emulsification performance and catalytic stability had a strong influence on the cyclic stability.