Synthesis of rare earth MOF/CZS materials derived from aromatic tetracarboxylic acids and photocatalytic hydrogen production

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 65; pp. 225 - 235
• Main Authors: Li, Tian-Tian, Chen, Yue, Cheng, Yi, Zheng, Meng-Qi, Qian, Jun-Feng, He, Ming-Yang, Chen, Qun, Zhang, Zhi-Hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 02.05.2024
• Subjects: Electron transfer; Photocatalysis; Photocatalytic hydrogen production; Rare earth metal-organic framework materials; Electron transfer; Rare earth metal-organic framework materials; Photocatalytic hydrogen production; Photocatalysis
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.04.043

With the increasing urgency of clean energy, photocatalytic hydrogen production serves as a sustainable hydrogen manufacturing method to improve the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels and environmental pollution. Herein, Cd0.2Zn0.8S (CZS)-modified Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) composites Pr–NO2–TPTC/CZS were successfully prepared through the reaction of Pr3+, aromatic tetracarboxylic acid, and Cd0.2Zn0.8S nanoparticles. Pr–NO2–TPTC/CZS composite materials exhibited enhanced photolysis performance compared to pure Pr–NO2–TPTC and Cd0.2Zn0.8S materials. With the decrease of Cd0.2Zn0.8S in Pr–NO2–TPTC/CZS composites, the photocatalytic performance of the synthesized composites is constantly improved. Pr–NO2–TPTC/CZS (1:1) photocatalyst exhibited excellent hydrogen evolution performance, with a hydrogen production capacity of 6321 μmol g−1 h−1. Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), photocurrent-time test (I-t), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) confirmed that the heterojunction interface formed between Pr–NO2–TPTC and CZS promoted electron-hole separation and transfer. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) indicated that CZS-modified Pr–NO2–TPTC can promote the production of ·OH and ·O2− in the system, thereby increasing the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance. This work provides an effective solution for photocatalytic hydrogen production and a potential method for solving the energy crisis and environmental pollution. [Display omitted] •Crystalline Pr–NO2–TPTC adopts 3D framework based on binuclear Pr–O clusters.•Cd0.2Zn0.8S-based heterojunction materials were successfully prepared.•Pr–NO2–TPTC/CZS (1:1) shows excellent photocatalytic performance of H2 production.