Photocatalytic Conversion of Lipid to Diesel and Syngas via Engineering the Surface Proton Transfer

• Published in: ACS catalysis 2024-02, Vol.14 (3), p.1699-1705
• Main Authors: Chen, Zhiwei, Zhou, Hongru, Kong, Fanhao, Dou, Zhaolin, Wang, Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2155-5435; 2155-5435
• DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c04818

Photocatalysis provides a promising pathway for the production of fuels and chemicals from biomass, where the slow proton reduction by surface-confined photoinduced electrons limits the efficiency. Herein, we propose to engineer the surface structure to facilitate the proton transfer on the catalyst surface and thus promote the proton reduction by the confined photoinduced electrons. We found introducing NH4 + on TiO2 (NH4–TiO2) could improve the proton conductivity. The NH4 + group effectively minimizes the proton transfer distance and promotes proton transfer by forming hydrogen-bond networks. Consequently, NH4–TiO2 shows a high yield of (≥80%) alkanes from bio-derived fatty acids which is about 3.8 times that of pristine TiO2. Glycerol can be reformed to syngas with a generation rate [CO (0.69 mmol g–1 h–1)/H2 (0.21 mmol g–1 h–1)]. Moreover, industrial palm oil can be converted into 59% alkanes and syngas [4% CO and H2 (0.04 mmol g–1 h–1)] via a hydrolysis-photocatalysis two-step process. This work provides an efficient approach for biomass upgrading via a rationally controlled proton transfer process.