Photocatalytic hydrogen production with aid of simultaneous metal deposition using titanium dioxide from aqueous glucose solution

• In-situ Au/TiO2 and Pd/TiO2 nanohybrids for green technology.
• Large work function and high glucose adsorption of Pd–TiO2 for H2 production.
• Metal deposition and glucose oxidation for reducing e−-h+ recombination.
• Mechanism of photocatalytic H2 generation using the metal deposited TiO2.

The photocatalytic hydrogen production with aid of simultaneous metal deposition using TiO2 was investigated in biomass glucose solution. Because the hydrogen production was very trace with pure TiO2, the simultaneous metal deposition was applied into the glucose solution. The photocatalytic H2 production activity with TiO2 was significantly enhanced by simultaneous metal deposition for Au and Pd. The experimental factors such as glucose concentration, metal ion concentration and reaction temperature were investigated. The photocatalytic hydrogen production increased with increasing the concentration of glucose, and it followed Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism. Under the optimal conditions, the photocatalytic hydrogen generations from aqueous glucose solution with in-situ Au and Pd deposited TiO2 were about 203 and 362 times larger compared with those observed with pure TiO2. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be explained in terms of reduced electron hole recombination via electron transfer from conductance band of TiO2 to metal.

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