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Published on: August 7, 2018
Isostructural Co/Ni-containing banana-shaped polyoxometalates for visible-light-driven hydrogen production
Manzhou Chi1, Yaohui Wen1, Yueyin Chen1
1MOE Key Laboratory of Cluster Science, Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High-throughput Manufacturing, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 102488, P. R. China. ygy@bit.edu.cn.
Noble-metal-free polyoxometalates containing nickel (Ni3P4) and cobalt (Co3P4) were synthesized. Ni3P4 demonstrated significantly higher catalytic efficiency for visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution due to enhanced proton reduction activity.
Area of Science:
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Catalysis
Background:
- Development of noble-metal-free catalysts for sustainable energy applications.
- Polyoxometalates (POMs) offer tunable structures and redox properties.
- Investigating structure-activity relationships in POM-based catalysts.
Purpose of the Study:
- Synthesize novel isostructural Ni/Co-containing polyoxometalates (Ni3P4 and Co3P4).
- Evaluate their performance as noble-metal-free catalysts for visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution.
- Elucidate the mechanistic origins of their catalytic activity differences.
Main Methods:
- One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of banana-shaped POMs.
- Characterization using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, and oxidation state determination.
- Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution experiments in a three-component system.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized isostructural Ni3P4 and Co3P4 polyoxometalates.
- Ni3P4 exhibited 6.5-fold higher catalytic efficiency for hydrogen evolution compared to Co3P4.
- Mechanistic studies indicated superior proton reduction activity of Ni centers, not enhanced photoinduced electron transfer.
Conclusions:
- Ni3P4 and Co3P4 are effective noble-metal-free catalysts for hydrogen evolution.
- The enhanced activity of Ni3P4 stems from the intrinsic catalytic properties of Ni over Co.
- This study highlights the potential of tailored polyoxometalates in photocatalytic hydrogen production.
