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.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Young Scientists Fund
Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province
Publisher
International Union of Crystallography (IUCr)
Subject
Materials Chemistry,Inorganic Chemistry,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Condensed Matter Physics