Hydrogen Production on Pt/TiO 2 : Synergistic Catalysis between Pt Clusters and Interfacial Adsorbates.

Understanding the mechanism of hydrogen (H 2 ) formation from the conversion of water (H 2 O) and renewables on TiO 2 surfaces with cocatalysts via either photocatalysis or other catalytic processes is of significant importance to the successful design of efficient catalysts. Herein, we have investigated H 2 production from H 2 O, CH 3 OH, and C 2 H 5 OH on a Pt cluster covered rutile (R)-TiO 2 (110) surface (Pt clut /R-TiO 2 (110)) to address the mechanism of H 2 production. Experimental results demonstrate that surface adsorbates not only help H atom diffusion on Pt clut /R-TiO 2 (110) but also take part in H 2 production directly. Further density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that H 2 production on Pt clut /R-TiO 2 (110) occurs via a synergistic catalysis process between Pt clusters and interfacial adsorbates rather than a recombination reaction of H atoms on Pt clusters. This work provides new insight into H 2 production from H 2 O and renewables with Pt/TiO 2 catalysts, which may be applicable to H 2 production on other Pt cluster deposited metal oxide catalysts.