Solar light induced interfacial charge transfer of electrons from TiO₂ to CuO in a water–glycerol mixture produced 99 823 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ _catalyst of hydrogen gas. The dispersed CuO/TiO₂ photocatalyst in solution exhibited uni-directional electron flow and capture at the Schottky barrier facilitating charge separation and electron transfer resulting in enhanced H₂ production performance.