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Title: Electron shuttle in the MOF derived TiO2/CuO heterojunction boosts light driven hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a novel template to develop porous photocatalytic materials for solar fuel conversion. In this work, we report the synthesis, charge separation dynamics, and photocatalytic performance of the TiO2/CuO heterostructure derived from mixed-phase MOFs based on Ti and Cu metal nodes, which demonstrates significantly enhanced catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) compared to metal oxides derived from single node MOFs. More importantly, using transient absorption spectroscopy, we identified the specific role each component in the heterostructure plays and unravelled the key intermediate species that is responsible for the exceptional photocatalytic activity of the heterostructure. We found that the HER is initiated with ultrafast electron transfer (<150 fs) from the molecular photosensitizer to the conduction band of TiO2, where TiO2 acts as an electron mediator and shuttles the electron to the CuO cocatalyst, facilitating charge separation and ultimately boosting the HER efficiency. Overall, these results not only demonstrate the great potential of using mixed-phase MOFs as templates to synthesize mesoporous heterostructure photocatalysts but also provide important insight into the HER mechanism.

Authors:
 [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Wuyi Univ., Jiangmen (China); Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI (United States)
  2. Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI (United States)
  3. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1780720
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-06CH11357; CBET-1706971
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Materials Chemistry. A
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 2050-7488
Publisher:
Royal Society of Chemistry
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; MOF; Metal organic frameworks; hydrogen evolution

Citation Formats

Zhang, Yunbo, Hu, Wenhui, Wang, Denan, Reinhart, Benjamin J., and Huang, Jier. Electron shuttle in the MOF derived TiO2/CuO heterojunction boosts light driven hydrogen evolution. United States: N. p., 2021. Web. doi:10.1039/d0ta12220c.
Zhang, Yunbo, Hu, Wenhui, Wang, Denan, Reinhart, Benjamin J., & Huang, Jier. Electron shuttle in the MOF derived TiO2/CuO heterojunction boosts light driven hydrogen evolution. United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ta12220c
Zhang, Yunbo, Hu, Wenhui, Wang, Denan, Reinhart, Benjamin J., and Huang, Jier. Wed . "Electron shuttle in the MOF derived TiO2/CuO heterojunction boosts light driven hydrogen evolution". United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ta12220c. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1780720.
@article{osti_1780720,
title = {Electron shuttle in the MOF derived TiO2/CuO heterojunction boosts light driven hydrogen evolution},
author = {Zhang, Yunbo and Hu, Wenhui and Wang, Denan and Reinhart, Benjamin J. and Huang, Jier},
abstractNote = {Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a novel template to develop porous photocatalytic materials for solar fuel conversion. In this work, we report the synthesis, charge separation dynamics, and photocatalytic performance of the TiO2/CuO heterostructure derived from mixed-phase MOFs based on Ti and Cu metal nodes, which demonstrates significantly enhanced catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) compared to metal oxides derived from single node MOFs. More importantly, using transient absorption spectroscopy, we identified the specific role each component in the heterostructure plays and unravelled the key intermediate species that is responsible for the exceptional photocatalytic activity of the heterostructure. We found that the HER is initiated with ultrafast electron transfer (<150 fs) from the molecular photosensitizer to the conduction band of TiO2, where TiO2 acts as an electron mediator and shuttles the electron to the CuO cocatalyst, facilitating charge separation and ultimately boosting the HER efficiency. Overall, these results not only demonstrate the great potential of using mixed-phase MOFs as templates to synthesize mesoporous heterostructure photocatalysts but also provide important insight into the HER mechanism.},
doi = {10.1039/d0ta12220c},
journal = {Journal of Materials Chemistry. A},
number = 10,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 27 00:00:00 EST 2021},
month = {Wed Jan 27 00:00:00 EST 2021}
}

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