Engineering the coordination structure of Cu for enhanced photocatalytic production of C1 chemicals from glucose

Photocatalytic decomposition of sugars is a promising way of providing H₂, CO, and HCOOH as sustainable energy vectors. However, the production of C₁ chemicals requires the cleavage of robust C−C bonds in sugars with concurrent production of H₂, which remains challenging. Here, the photocatalytic activity for glucose decomposition to HCOOH, CO (C₁ chemicals), and H₂ on Cu/TiO₂ was enhanced by nitrogen doping. Owing to nitrogen doping, atomically dispersed and stable Cu sites resistant to light irradiation are formed on Cu/TiO₂. The electronic interaction between Cu and nitrogen ions originates valence band structure and defect levels composed of N 2p orbit, distinct from undoped Cu/TiO₂. Therefore, the lifetime of charge carriers is prolonged, resulting in the production of C₁ chemicals and H₂ with productivities 1.7 and 2.1 folds that of Cu/TiO₂. This work provides a strategy to design coordinatively stable Cu ions for photocatalytic biomass conversion.