Mechanism insight into single-atom platinum modified indium zinc sulfide for photocatalytic biomass furfural selective production

The photocatalytic sustainable production of furfural from biomass-derived platform compounds represents a promising green approach. Nevertheless, the low utilization efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers and uncontrollable product selectivity remain major bottlenecks restricting its development. In this study, a dual-functional photocatalyst of single-atom platinum modified indium zinc sulfide (Pt₁/ZIS) was fabricated, enabling the simultaneous production of hydrogen (H₂) and selective valorisation of furfuryl alcohol to furfural. On a metal basis, the optimized Pt₁/ZIS exhibits a furfural formation rate of 1883 mmol g_Pt⁻¹ h⁻¹ and a H₂ evolution rate of 1988 mmol g_Pt⁻¹ h⁻¹, which is 31-fold and 40-fold higher than those of its Pt nanoparticle counterpart, respectively. Such superior performance of Pt₁/ZIS was demonstrated to stem from the facilitation of photogenerated charge separation, the generation of carbon radical intermediates, and the selective cleavage of O–H bonds in the α-hydroxy group on Pt single atoms. Substrate expansion experiments displayed that Pt₁/ZIS catalyst can highly selectively oxidize nearly ten types of biomass alcohols into the corresponding aldehydes, accompanied by a high hydrogen generation rate.