Construction of PdS@MIL-125-NH2 @ZnS type-II heterostructure with efficient charge separation for boosted photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

A new photocatalyst, PdS@NH2-MIL-125(Ti)@ZnS (PdS/M125/ZnS) heterojunction is fabricated for photo -catalytic H 2 generation for the first time, where PdS nanoparticles are anchored in the pore of M125 by utilizing its confinement effect, and the ZnS is closely wrapped on the surfaces of the MOFs. The optimal photocatalyst exhibits a significantly enhanced H 2 generation rate of 1164.2 mu mol/g/h, while the pure M125 only displays a H 2 generation rate of 16.7 mu mol/g/h. The resultant improvement can be ascribed to the following comprehensive advantages. The hierarchical structure built by PdS, M125, and ZnS can form lots of intimate interfaces, offer abundant sites for reaction, and smooth channels for charge carri-ers due to the porous characteristics of MOFs. Moreover, M125 and ZnS with inner defect levels form an analogous type-II heterojunction assisted by PdS co-catalyst, which greatly promotes charge separation. This work may supply a new avenue to design MOFs photocatalysts for energy conversion.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Automated summary

For the first time, a new photocatalyst PdS@NH2-MIL-125(Ti)@ZnS (PdS/M125/ZnS) heterojunction was fabricated for photo-catalytic H2 generation. The optimized photocatalyst displayed a significantly enhanced H2 generation rate compared to pure M125, attributed to the hierarchical structure and the type-II heterojunction formed by M125, ZnS, and PdS co-catalyst. This work provides a new avenue for designing MOFs photocatalysts for energy conversion.