Solar-Driven Photothermal Catalytic Lignocellulosic Biomass-to-H2 Conversion

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to chemical fuel can achieve the sustainable use of lignocellulosic biomass, but it was limited by the lack of an effective conversion strategy. Here, we reported a unique approach of photothermal catalysis by using MoS2-reduced graphene oxide (MoS2/RGO) as the catalyst to convert lignocellulosic biomass into H2 fuel in alkaline solution. The RGO acting as a support for the growth of MoS2 results in the high exposed Mo edges, which act as efficient Lewis acidic sites for the oxygenolysis of lignocellulosic biomass dissolved in alkaline solution. The broad light absorption capacity and abundant Lewis acidic sites make MoS2/RGO to be efficient catalysts for photothermal catalytic H2 production from lignocellulosic biomass, and the H2 generation rate with respect to catalyst under 300 W Xe lamp irradiation in cellulose, rice straw, wheat straw, polar wood chip, bamboo, rice hull, and corncob aqueous solution achieve 223, 168, 230, 564, 390, 234, and 55 μmol·h–1·g–1, respectively. It is believed that this photothermal catalysis is a simple and “green” approach for the lignocellulosic biomass-to-H2 conversion, which would have great potential as a promising approach for solar energy-driven H2 production from lignocellulosic biomass.