A new strategy for the fabrication of covalent organic framework-metal-organic framework hybrids via in-situ functionalization of ligands for improved hydrogen evolution reaction activity

• Published in: Chinese journal of catalysis Vol. 43; no. 3; pp. 811 - 819
• Main Authors: Zheng, Ling-Ling, Zhang, Long-Shuai, Chen, Ying, Tian, Lei, Jiang, Xun-Heng, Chen, Li-Sha, Xing, Qiu-Ju, Liu, Xiao-Zhen, Wu, Dai-She, Zou, Jian-Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2022
• Subjects: COF/MOF hybrid; Covalent organic frameworks; Hydrogen evolution; In-situ; Metal-organic frameworks; Covalent organic frameworks; COF/MOF hybrid; In-situ; Metal-organic frameworks; Hydrogen evolution
• ISSN: 1872-2067; 1872-2067
• DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(21)63892-5

The development of novel porous materials have attracted significant attention owing to its possible application in several fields. In this study, we designed a novel covalent organic framework-metal-organic framework (COF-MOF) material through an in-situ ligand self-assembly method. The in-situ modified ligands not only act as nucleation sites to form Ti-MOF, but also as a channel to rapidly transfer photogenerated electrons without introducing additional chemical bonds. The photocatalytic hydrogen production rate achieved over B-CTF-Ti-MOF(1:1) was 1975 µmol·g−1·h−1 with an apparent quantum efficiency of 4.76%, which is 11.8 times higher than that of the pure CTF-1. In addition, compared with the sample prepared by separating the ligands (CTF-1/Ti-MOF), B-CTF-Ti-MOF shows excellent activity and stability. Finally, a reasonable photocatalytic mechanism was proposed using the results of electrochemical tests and spectral analyses. This study provides a universal method for the construction of highly efficient and stable COF/MOF materials with excellent properties. Well-designed unique covalent organic framework-metal-organic framework hybrids (B-CTF-Ti-MOF) were constructed by using in-situ functionalized ligands as nucleation sites and electronic transmission channels to boost the photocatalytic performance of the material.