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Research Article

Covalence bridge atomically precise metal nanocluster and metal-organic frameworks for enhanced photostability and photocatalysis

Aimin Yao, Yuanxin Du(), Meng Han, Yan Wang, Jiashen Hu, Qingtao Zhu, Hongting Sheng, Manzhou Zhu ()
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Centre for Atomic Engineering of Advanced Materials, Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry of Anhui Province, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
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The “covalence bridge” was used to connect atomically precise metal nanoclusters and metal-organic frameworks and acted as an effective charge transport channel to enhance photocatalytic activity. UiO-66-NH2-Au25(L-Cys)18 displayed an exceptional photocatalytic H2 production rate and photostability than UiO-66-NH2/Au25(PET)18 (made by physically combination) due to higher charge transfer efficiency, lower overpotential of water reduction and activation energy barrier.

Abstract

Metal nanoclusters (NCs) with precise structure and ultrasmall size have attracted great interests in catalysis. However, the poor stability has limited its large-scale use. Herein, we proposed the “covalence bridge” strategy to effectively connect atomically precise metal NCs and metal-organic frameworks. Benefiting from the covalent linkage, the synthesized UiO-66-NH2-Au25(L-Cys)18 showed outstanding stability after 16 h photocatalysis. Moreover, the covalence bridge created a strong metal-support interaction between the two components and provided an effective charge transport channel and thereby enhanced photocatalytic activity. UiO-66-NH2-Au25(L-Cys)18 displayed an exceptional photocatalytic H2 production rate, which is 21 and 90 times higher than that of UiO-66-NH2/Au25(PET)18 (made by physically combination) and bare UiO-66-NH2, respectively. Thermodynamic and kinetic studies demonstrated that UiO-66-NH2-Au25(L-Cys)18 exhibited higher charge transfer efficiency, lower overpotential of water reduction and activation energy barrier compared with its counterparts.

Keywords

atomically precise nanoclustersmetal-organic frameworkscovalent bindingphotostabilityphotocatalytic hydrogen production

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Nano Research
Volume 16 Issue 1,
January 2023
Pages 1527-1532
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-022-4725-4
Cite this article:
Yao A, Du Y, Han M, et al. Covalence bridge atomically precise metal nanocluster and metal-organic frameworks for enhanced photostability and photocatalysis. Nano Research, 2023, 16(1): 1527-1532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4725-4
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