Green Syngas Production from Natural Lignin, Sunlight, and Water over Pt-decorated InGaN Nanowires.

ABSTRACT

Transformation of lignin to syngas can turn waste into treasure yet remains a tremendous challenge because of its naturally evolved stubborn structure. In this work, light-driven reforming of natural lignin in water for green syngas production is explored using Pt-decorated InGaN nanowires. Syngas is  yielded from the continuous evolution of •CH3 and •OH from photocatalytic reforming of lignin in water. Together with the superior optoelectronic attributes of Pt-decorated InGaN nanowires, the evolution rate of syngas approaches to 43.4 mol·g-1·h-1 with tunable H2/CO ratios and a remarkable turnover number (TON) of 150, 543mol syngas per mol Pt. Notably, the architecture demonstrates a high light efficiency of 12.1% for syngas generation under focused light without any extra thermal input. Outdoor test ascertains the viability of producing syngas with the only inputs of natural lignin, water, and sunlight, thus presenting a low-carbon route for synthesizing transportation fuels and value-added chemicals.