Construction of Ptδ+–O(H)–Ti3+ Species for Efficient Catalytic Production of Hydrogen

Hydrogen is an attractive energy carrier because of its high energy density and clean emission. Herein, we report the construction of Ptδ+–O(H)–Ti3+ species on titania-supported Pt nanoparticles with strong metal–support interaction (SMSI), which boost the catalytic production of hydrogen from methanol steam reforming and water-gas shift at low temperatures. Characterizations of in-situ FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Ptδ+–O(H)–Ti3+ species, which resulted from the reduction of titania and dissociation of water at the Pt–titania interfaces. Compared with the general titania-supported Pt NPs without SMSI, the Pt/TiO2 with SMSI exhibited an improved hydrogen production rate by 9 times, and the CO concentration in the effluent was lower than 200 ppm. These findings gave a model for exploring the structure-performance interplay and provided an efficient strategy to optimize the catalysts to accelerate the production of hydrogen.