g-C3N4 supported metal (Pd, Ag, Pt) catalysts for hydrogen-production from formic acid

g-C3N4 supported metal (Pd, Ag, Pt) catalysts were synthesized, and their catalytic performances for hydrogen-production from formic acid were evaluated. The Pd catalyst can effectively turn formic acid into H-2 and CO2 with 100% selectivity at room temperature or even at a lower temperature. The catalysts were characterized with TEM, XPS, PXRD, ICP, Chemisorption, IR spectra and Raman spectra. The results indicate that the good catalytic performance of the catalysts could be attributed to the interaction between g-C3N4 and the metal nanoparticles: that is, the overlap between the d-orbitals of Pd and the -conjugated system of g-C3N4. The effect of the interaction was verified by analyzing the contrasting catalytic performances of Pd/g-C3N4, Ag-Pd/g-C3N4, Pt-Pd/g-C3N4 and Pd/HTNTs (hydrogen titanate nanotubes) for hydrogen-production from formic acid.