Photoactive Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework as Intrinsic Heterogeneous Catalysts for Light-Driven Hydrogen Generation

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) with intrinsic photoactivity represent an excellent scaffold for a single-site photocatalytic center. However, their application in visible-light-driven photocatalysis is hampered by their light harvesting ability due to limited coverage in the realm of the solar spectrum and relatively low extinction coefficient. In this work, we report the first example of the enhanced light-harvesting property of ZIF-67 via energy transfer from a molecular photosensitizer, that is, the RuN3 complex, sensitized on the surface of ZIF-67. Using transient absorption spectroscopy, we show that energy transfer occurs from the excited RuN3 to ZIF-67 with similar to 86.9% efficiency. More importantly, this RuN3/ZIF-67 hybrid system exhibits significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity for H-2 production from water, which can be attributed to efficient energy transfer from RuN3.