In situ synthesis of Cu-doped ZIF-8 for efficient photocatalytic water splitting

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) reached a new level of research in photocatalysis by their virtue of tunable structure, modifiable pores, and a large surface area. Herein, we employed a simple metal ion exchange method to change ZIF-8 from UV light to visible light absorption photocatalyst. In this work, Cu2+ ions are integrated within the ZIF-8 framework to synthesize Cu-doped ZIF-8 photocatalysts and well characterized by using both the spectroscopic and electrochemical studies. The Cu@ZIF-8 (CDZ-20) photocatalyst shows enhanced light-harvesting ability and remarkable hydrogen generation rate of 13.9 mmolg(-1) h(-1) with an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 9.08%, which is 17 times higher than that of pristine ZIF-8 photocatalyst. The higher photocurrent density of 34 mu A/cm(2) in CDZ-20 further reinforced the superiority over the ZIF-8 (1 mu A/cm(2)). This work paves the way to engineer robust copper doped ZIFs photocatalyst under mild synthesis approach for efficient H-2 evolution.

Automated summary

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have advanced research in photocatalysis by altering their structure for visible light absorption. This study focuses on synthesizing Cu-doped ZIF-8 photocatalysts using a metal ion exchange method and characterizing them through spectroscopic and electrochemical studies. The Cu@ZIF-8 (CDZ-20) photocatalyst exhibited significantly enhanced light-harvesting ability and hydrogen generation rate.