A Multi-Layer Device for Light-Triggered Hydrogen Production from Alkaline Methanol

It usually requires high temperature and high pressure to reform methanol with water to hydrogen with high turnover frequency (TOF). Here we show that hydrogen can be produced from alkaline methanol on a light-triggered multi-layer system with a very high hydrogen evolution rate up to ca. 1 μmol s^-1 under the illumination of a standard Pt-decorated carbon nitride. The system can achieve a remarkable TOF up to 1.8×10⁶  moles of hydrogen per mole of Pt per hour under mild conditions. The total turnover number (TTN) of 470 000 measured over 38 hours is among the highest reported. The system does not lead to any CO_x emissions, hence it could feed clean hydrogen to fuel cells. In contrast to a slurry system, the proposed multi-layer system avoids particle aggregation and effectively uses light and Pt active sites. The performance is also attributed to the light-triggered reforming of alkaline methanol. This notable performance is a promising step toward practical light-driven hydrogen generation.