Self-assembly of a cobalt(II)-based metal–organic framework as an effective water-splitting heterogeneous catalyst for light-driven hydrogen production

Abstract

The solar photocatalysis of water splitting represents a significant branch of enzymatic simulation by efficient chemical conversion and the generation of hydrogen as green energy provides a feasible way for the replacement of fossil fuels to solve energy and environmental issues. We report herein the self‐assembly of a CoII‐based metal–organic framework (MOF) constructed from 4,4′,4′′,4′′′‐(ethene‐1,1,2,2‐tetrayl)tetrabenzoic acid [or tetrakis(4‐carboxyphenyl)ethylene, H4TCPE] and 4,4′‐bipyridyl (bpy) as four‐point‐ and two‐point‐connected nodes, respectively. This material, namely, poly[(μ‐4,4′‐bipyridyl)[μ8‐4,4′,4′′,4′′′‐(ethene‐1,1,2,2‐tetrayl)tetrabenzoato]cobalt(II)], [Co(C30H16O8)(C10H8N2)]n, crystallized as dark‐red block‐shaped crystals with high crystallinity and was fully characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, PXRD, IR, solid‐state UV–Vis and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. The redox‐active CoII atoms in the structure could be used as the catalytic sites for hydrogen production via water splitting. The application of this new MOF as a heterogeneous catalyst for light‐driven H2 production has been explored in a three‐component system with fluorescein as photosensitizer and trimethylamine as the sacrificial electron donor, and the initial volume of H2 production is about 360 µmol after 12 h irradiation.

Two Novel Pyrene Tetra-Sulfonate Europium Coordination Polymers: Structure Formation Mechanism Analysis and Sequential Modulation Strategy

“…They have diverse and easily modified skeletal structures, and many of them also have a functionalized pore structure with large porosity and specific surface area. These intriguing features lead widespread applications including gas storage and separation, catalysis, fluorescence sensing, optoelectronics, magnetic materials, bioengineering, and so on [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In recent years, MOCPs have also received extensive attention as precursors and templates for the preparation of various kinds of derivatives, including nanostructured carbon; metal oxides (MOs); metal composites (M/MO@C); and other metal-containing compounds such as metal nitrides (MNs), metal carbides (MCs), and so on [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”