Promoted solar-driven dry reforming of methane with Pt/mesoporous-TiO2 photo-thermal synergistic catalyst: Performance and mechanism study

•High efficient Pt/mesoporous-TiO2 photo-thermal catalyst was prepared and applied for DRM reaction.•Catalytic activities of prepared photo-thermal catalyst were investigated under different conditions.•Synergistic effect of photo-thermal catalysis and SPR effect could improve the performance of catalyst.•Mechanism of photo-thermal DRM reaction was discussed based on catalytic testing and in situ DRIFTS experiments.