Steam methane reforming using a regenerable antenna-reactor plasmonic photocatalyst

Steam methane reforming (SMR) is the major industrial process for hydrogen production. It currently relies on high-temperature operating conditions and is associated with high carbon intensity. Photocatalytic SMR could provide greener and potentially more efficient H₂ production. Here we demonstrate a plasmonic photocatalytic approach based on a Cu–Rh antenna–reactor photocatalyst for highly reactive, selective and stable SMR due to plasmon-mediated hot carrier contributions. We observe that the photocatalyst is intrinsically stable in photocatalysis but deactivates under thermocatalysis; however, the thermally deactivated catalyst can be regenerated by resonant illumination. The regeneration mechanism is studied in detail and found to be caused by plasmon-induced associative desorption of oxygen and carbon species.