Biotemplated Artificial Olive Leaf-Structured TiO2 Decorated with Pt and Au for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Biotemplated strategies inspired by natural architecture have emerged as an effective strategy to improve the performance of photocatalytic materials. In this work, TiO2-based photocatalysts were synthesized using olive leaves as a biological template to reproduce their hierarchical microstructure and enhance photocatalytic hydrogen production. The artificial olive leaf (AOL) support was obtained through a biotemplated ion-exchange process followed by hydrolysis and calcination. It was then modified by photodeposition of Au or Pt nanoparticles. The materials were characterized by SEM, XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and XPS to evaluate their structural and optical properties. SEM confirmed the successful replication of both the external morphology and internal architecture of the olive leaf, while XRD revealed low crystallinity with anatase as the only TiO2 phase. Optical characterization showed a reduced band gap (~2.97 eV), and extended absorption toward the visible region, with Au nanoparticles exhibiting a plasmonic band at ~550 nm, whereas Pt enhanced light-harvesting efficiency. XPS indicated the presence of oxygen vacancies and Ti3+ species that promote metal–support interactions. Photocatalytic glycerol photoreforming showed a strong enhancement in hydrogen production after noble metal incorporation, reaching up to 14-fold under UV irradiation and 23-fold under simulated solar light for the Pt-modified catalyst, highlighting the synergy between biotemplated structuring and noble metal deposition.