Metal–organic framework with atomically dispersed Ni–N4 sites for greatly-raised visible-light photocatalytic H2 production

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 431; p. 133944
• Main Authors: Xia, Bingquan, Yang, Yi, Zhang, Yanzhao, Xia, Yang, Jaroniec, Mietek, Yu, Jiaguo, Ran, Jingrun, Qiao, Shi-Zhang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Atomically dispersed Ni–N4 sites; Interface engineering; Metal–organic frameworks; Photocatalytic hydrogen production; Interface engineering; Atomically dispersed Ni–N4 sites; Photocatalytic hydrogen production; Metal–organic frameworks
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.133944

[Display omitted] •Novel Ni-based metal–organic framework (MOF)/CdS with outstanding performance for photocatalytic hydrogen generation.•Numerous atomically dispersed Ni-N4 reduction sites confined in MOF boosting the photocatalytic activity.•The process of electron-hole separation and migration greatly facilitated by MOF. The depletion of traditional fossil fuels and related environmental issues have increased the demand for clean and sustainable energy resources to achieve carbon neutrality. Active, robust and cheap photocatalysts are required for large-scale photocatalytic H2 evolution reaction (p-HER), which transforms solar energy into chemical energy. Here we report the decoration of Ni-imidazole framework (NiIm) with CdS nanorods for p–HER. The p–HER rate of CdS/NiIm hybrid sharply increased by about 14.23 times to 21,712 µmol h−1 g–1 when compared with that of CdS alone. Physicochemical characterizations and theoretical calculations reveal strong interactions at the CdS/NiIm interface and the presence of numerous Ni–N4 active sites on NiIm leading to the significant performance enhancement. This work demonstrates that NiIm acts as an affordable and abundant co-catalyst that remarkably enhances the p–HER, and enlightens the further development in the design and preparation of metal−organic framework-based materials for various applications in photocatalysis and related subjects.