S-Scheme ZIF-67/CuFe-LDH Heterojunction for High-Performance Photocatalytic H2 Evolution and CO2 to MeOH Production

• Main Authors: Vennapoosa C.S., Varangane S., Gonuguntla S., Abraham B.M., Ahmadipour M., Pal U.
• Other Authors: 57566914300
• Format: Article
• Published: American Chemical Society 2024
• Subjects: Charge transfer; Copper compounds; Heterojunctions; Hybrid materials; Hydrogen; Iron compounds; Light absorption; Photocatalytic activity; Spectroscopic analysis; Electron-hole separation; H 2 evolution; Hybrid nanostructures; Hydrogen evolution rate; Lifespans; Performance; Photo-catalytic; Photocatalytic hydrogen; Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution; Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks; Carbon dioxide
• Institution: Universiti Tenaga Nasional

The S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst holds potential for better photocatalysis owing to its capacity to broaden the light absorption range, ease electron-hole separation, extend the charge carrier lifespan, and maximize the redox ability. In this study, we integrate zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs-67) with the CuFe-LDH composite, offering a straightforward approach towards creating a novel hybrid nanostructure, enabling remarkable performance in both photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evolution and carbon dioxide (CO2) to methanol (MeOH) conversion. The ZIF-67/CuFe-LDH photocatalyst exhibits an enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 7.4 mmol g-1 h-1 and an AQY of 4.8%. The superior activity of CO2 reduction to MeOH generation was 227 ?mol g-1 h-1 and an AQY of 5.1%, and it still exhibited superior activity after continuously working for 4 runs with nearly negligible decay in activity. The combined spectroscopic analysis, electrochemical study, and computational data strongly demonstrate that this hybrid material integrates the advantageous properties of the individual ZIF-67 and CuFe-LDH exhibiting distinguished photon harvesting, suppression of the photoinduced electron-hole recombination kinetics, extended lifetime, and efficient charge transfer, subsequently boosting higher photocatalytic activities. � 2023 American Chemical Society.