Experimental study on preparing Cu/TiO2 photothermal catalysts using photodeposition one-step method and its application in catalytic hydrogen production from glycerol

In the study, a novel photodeposition one-step method for preparing Cu/TiO₂ photothermal catalysis was proposed to catalyze hydrogen production from glycerol. The biomass glycerol was used as a sacrificial agent to provide electrons for Cu²⁺ loading during the catalyst preparation stage, and the remaining biomass glycerol was used directly as a reactant for photothermal-catalyzed hydrogen production. The catalysts were characterized using XRD, SEM, and TEM to obtain their phases and structures. The Cu/TiO₂ photodeposition process evaluation method based on image analysis and processing, and its experimental platform were established. The influence of parameters such as irradiation intensity, temperature, and catalyst concentration on the loading rate of photodeposited Cu²⁺ was analyzed. The results demonstrated that enhancing the irradiation intensity, increasing the temperature, and decreasing the catalyst concentration can increase the loading rate of Cu. The Cu/TiO₂ photothermal catalyst prepared by this method showed a hydrogen production rate 1.6 times higher than that of the deposition and precipitation method under the same reaction conditions, which proved that the catalyst had a high photothermal catalysis hydrogen production activity. The hydrogen production rate at an irradiation intensity of 250 mW/cm² was 628.16 μmol/(g·h), which was 1.9 times that at an irradiation intensity of 100 mW/cm². Both elevated temperature and increased irradiation intensity can significantly improve the photothermal catalysis glycerol hydrogen production activity.