Boosting Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution by Coupling Alcohol Oxidation Over Bifunctional Photocatalyst

Developing bifunctional photocatalysts capable of efficiently utilizing photogenerated charge carriers for simultaneous H 2 production and value-added chemicals is highly desirable yet remains challenging. In this study, a class of bifunctional photocatalyst (TiO 2 @Ni–Pt) has been prepared via a facile photodeposition strategy for photocatalytic H 2 evolution coupled with benzyl alcohol (BA) oxidation. Compared with pristine TiO 2 , the as-obtained TiO 2 @Ni–Pt exhibits markedly improved photocatalytic activity, delivering H 2 evolution rate of 5.76 mmol·g −1 ·h −1 , BA conversion of 36.9%, and benzaldehyde selectivity of 87.2%. After 12 h of reaction in three consecutive cycles, no noticeable performance degradation is observed, indicating good stability of the catalyst. Mechanistic investigations reveal that the incorporation of Ni–Pt bimetallic sites not only enhance the light–harvesting capability, but also promotes charge separation by acting as electron–accepting centers. Moreover, the uniform dispersion of Ni and Pt on TiO 2 provides abundant active sites for H 2 evolution and BA oxidation. ESR results suggest that a free–radical pathway is involved in the alcohol oxidation reaction. This work provides a rational strategy for synergistically achieving clean energy and value–added chemicals. Graphical In this study, a class of bifunctional photocatalyst of TiO 2 @Ni–Pt was successfully prepared via a facile photodeposition strategy. The optimized TiO 2 @Ni–Pt exhibits excellent performance for photocatalytic H 2 evolution coupled with benzyl alcohol (BA) oxidation, delivering H 2 evolution rate of 5.76 mmol·g −1 ·h −1 , BA conversion of 36.9%, and benzaldehyde selectivity of 87.2%.