Insitu synthesis of Cu-doped ZIF-8 for efficient photocatalytic water splitting

Abstract Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which have a large surface area, are gaining popularity in photocatalysis, although they have drawbacks such as little visible light response and limited carrier migration efficiency. Herein, we employed a simple metal ion exchange method to change zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) from a typical UV light to a unique broad-spectrum of visible light driven photocatalyst. In this respect, Cu2+ ions with varying loadings were integrated within the ZIF-8 framework to produce a range of Cu-doped ZIF-8 materials, and their photocatalytic activity of hydrogen production was investigated. The effect of insitu Cu+ 2 doping on boosting visible-light photocatalytic activity of ZIF-8 was investigated using a photocurrent test, electrochemical impedance spectra, photocatalytic activity tests, and photoluminescence spectroscopy measurement. These findings showed that doping of Cu+ 2 is a good technique to promote ZIF-8's visible-light photocatalytic activity, as Cu+ 2 improve visible light usage and carrier separation efficiency. Moreover, compared to pristine ZIF-8 (0.80 mmol/g/h), the photocatalytic H2 generation rate of Cu@ZIF-8 (CDZ-20) is seventeen folds high (13.9 mmol/g/h). This work shows how to make a high-effective and stable copper doped ZIFs (CDZ) photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution using a novel and easy technique.