Highly selective PtCo bimetallic nanoparticles on silica for continuous production of hydrogen from aqueous phase reforming of xylose

Abstract

Hydrogen (H2) is a promising energy vector for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Lignocellulosic biomass waste has been introduced as one of the abundant and carbon neutral H2 sources. Among those, xylose with its short carbon chain has emerged attractive, where H2 can be catalytically released in an aqueous reactor. In this study, a composite catalyst system consisting of silica (SiO2)-supported platinum (Pt)-cobalt (Co) bimetallic nanoparticles was developed for aqueous phase reforming of xylose conducted at 225 degrees C and 29.3 bar. The PtCo/SiO2 catalyst showed a significantly higher H2 production rate and selectivity than that of Pt/SiO2, whereas Co/SiO2 shows no activity in H2 production. The highest selectivity for useful liquid byproducts was obtained with PtCo/SiO2. Moreover, CO2 emissions throughout the reaction were reduced compared to those of monometallic Pt/SiO2. The PtCo bimetallic nanocatalyst offers an inexpensive, sustainable, and durable solution with high chemical selectivity for scalable reforming of hard-to ferment pentose sugars.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).