Bifunctional Co active site on dilute CoCu plasmonic alloy for light-driven H2 production from methanol and water

Catalytic H2 production from CH3OH and H2O is acknowledged as a promising strategy in the growth of future hydrogen economy, yet its industrialization still faces significant challenges of substantial energy consumption. To overcome the high barrier of CH3OH/H2O activation, we report a low-cost plasmonic Co–Cu alloy catalyst for producing H2 efficiently through a light-driven process, bringing an outstanding generation rate of 6225.1 μmol g−1 min−1 (31.1 μmol min−1) without external thermal energy input. The bifunctional nature of Co active sites on Cu favors the adsorption of CH3OH and lowers the energy barrier for H2O dissociation simultaneously. Moreover, the Co–Cu interface exploits the hot-carrier-induced reactant activation upon visible light irradiation, enormously decreasing the apparent activation energy from 100.8 to 68.2 kJ mol−1. Our study unveils a novel method to harness renewable solar energy for H2 production, and will provide numerous opportunities for constructing a robust and sustainable catalytic process.