Oxygen vacancies promoted hydrogen production from methanol aqueous phase reforming over MgAl−LDHs supported plasmonic Ru nanoparticles catalyst

Catalytic aqueous phase reforming of methanol is a promising process for the sustainable hydrogen production. The search for highly efficient heterogeneous catalyst is a topic of interest. Herein, we report oxygen vacancies enriched MgAl−LDHs supported plasmonic Ru nanoparticles catalyst exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance for efficient hydrogen production at 150 ºC under light irradiation. Characterizations demonstrate abundant oxygen vacancies are introduced into MgAl−LDHs via “memory effect”. The local electron transfer from oxygen vacancies of the MgAl−LDHs to the Ru nanoparticles leading the formation of electron-rich Ru species, which promote the dehydrogenation of methanol under light irradiation. In situ DRIFTS demonstrated a redox mechanism of water-gas shift reaction due to the existence of oxygen vacancies, which resulted a faster hydrogen production rate. This work displays a facile strategy for synthesis of oxygen vacancies rich LDH supported metal nanoparticles catalysts and deep understanding into the pathway and mechanism toward the effective hydrogen production.