Efficient photocatalytic reforming of cellulose for H 2 production enabled by oxygen-vacancy rich SrMoO 4 /palygorskite nanocomposite

Photocatalytic reforming of biomass into hydrogen along with the simultaneous production of high-value chemicals, plays a significant role in advancing a sustainable economy. A major challenge in this process is the effective utilization of photogenerated holes while simultaneously preventing the rapid recombination of photoinduced carriers, which is crucial for optimizing solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency. In this study, an exquisite oxygen-rich vacancy (O V ) plasmonic SrMoO 4 /phosphor acidized palygorskite (H -Pal) nanocomposite was prepared for efficient photocatalytic H 2 evolution while producing high value-added lactic acid (LA) simultaneously. Results showed that the integration of local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect and O V enhanced the photothermal catalytic conversion of cellulose reaching as high as 87%. Notably, the selectivity of LA reached as high as 31% while the H 2 -evolution efficiency reached 906 mu mol center dot g -1 center dot h -1 . The local thermal effect improved the conversion efficiency of cellulose, and the O V in SrMoO 4 introduced instantaneous Lewis acid sites during light irradiation, which improved the selectivity for LA. Moreover, the formation of an S-scheme SrMoO 4 - O V /H-Pal heterostructure effectively inhibited the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and maintained a high redox potential. This work demonstrates a promising strategy for efficient photocatalytic H 2 - evolution, coupled with production of high -valuable chemicals from biomass resources by taking advantage of clay materials.