Photocatalytic Cellulose Reforming for H₂ and Formate Production by Using Graphene Oxide-Dot Catalysts

The mechanism of photocatalytic biomass reforming for H 2 production is far from fully understood. This study uses functionalized graphene dots with Pt-cocatalyst to reform cellulose in an alkaline solution under 1 sun illumination. Reforming of cellulose is initiated with the peeling of its constituent d -glucose units, which subsequently transform into deprotonated isosaccharinic acid (C 6 ). Further degradation of C 6 into molecules C 5 -C 1 proceeds through successive alternation of C-eliminating hydrolysis and photocatalytic oxidation of C 6 derivatives. The C 6 -C 1 species are quantitatively identified using chromatography and mass spectroscopy. The end C-containing product is predominantly HCOO – rather than HCO 3 – (or CO 2 ). The photocatalytic oxidation is accompanied by the photocatalytic reduction of water to produce H 2 . This reforming steadily produced H 2 for 6 days with a negligible rate decay, accomplishing 35% of the theoretical ultimate value for the reforming of cellulose. This study elucidates the detailed mechanism in the photocatalytic reforming of cellulose.