A Simple Ni-based Metal-organic Framework as Catalyst for Dye-sensitized Photocatalytic H₂ Evolution from Water...

Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) are recently developed coordination porous materials, and their unique structures are very conducive to catalytic reactions. In this paper, p-benzenedicarboxylic acid (PBA)-Ni²⁺ MOF materials (denoted as PBA-Ni-x, where x represents the initial ratio of PBA to Ni²⁺ ) were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and N₂ gas adsorption. H₂ gas was produced using the synthesized MOF as a photocatalyst and Eosin Y as a photosensitizer. The dependence of the special surface area and thickness of the nanosheets of Ni-MOF on the initial ratio of PBA to Ni²⁺ (PBA/Ni²⁺ ) was investigated. The BET surface areas of PBA-Ni-1 PBA-Ni-2 and PBA-Ni-3 are 11.00, 24.61 and 13.04 m²  g^-1 , respectively. And the thicknesses of nanosheets are approximately 600-1000, 200-500 and 300-700 nm. Among the three materials, PBA-Ni-2 has the thinnest sheet-like structure and largest surface area. Thus, it displays the highest H₂ evolution rate of 20.0 μmol h^-1 . The noble-metal-free hydrogen production system is valuable for the application of MOF materials in photocatalytic water splitting.