Efficient Cu/CeO2 composites for hydrogen production from photothermal methanol steam reforming: The utility of synergism of photo and thermal catalysis

Exploring efficient catalysts for hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming (MSR) is quite challenge. Introducing a photosensitive material into conventional thermal catalysts is a promising protocol to enhance MSR reactivity. By utilizing the plasmonic effect of copper and the oxygen vacancy on ceria, we developed Cu/CeO2 catalysts for photothermal MSR, by which the synergism of photo and thermal effects greatly improved the activity and stability of Cu/CeO2. The proper Cu nanoparticle size, the highest UV–visual light absorption ability and the strongest Cu-CeO2 interaction in the 10 %-Cu/CeO2 catalyst contributed to the best MSR performance than the 5 %-Cu/CeO2 and 20 %-Cu/CeO2 counterparts, methanol conversion of 95.5 % and H2 yield of 36 mL/(gcatmin) at 250C were obtained under Xenon lamp irradiation. This work demonstrates the effective Cu/CeO2 catalysts in photothermal MSR reaction for hydrogen production, and the findings should aid the understanding on photothermal catalytic mechanism.