Investigate the Role of Iron in Mixed Metal‐UiO‐66 and its Non‐Covalent Interaction with rGO for Improved Solar‐to‐Hydrogen Production

Abstract

The interesting physiochemical characteristics of metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) have made them attractive materials for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions. In this study, UiO‐66 was developed through the addition of iron to form nano sphere‐shaped mixed metal Zr, Fe‐UiO‐66 (UZF), and it was further composite with nanosheets of reduced graphene oxide (denoted as UZFG) for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production. The pristine UiO‐66 did not produce hydrogen but the addition of iron improves the charge separation, reduces the band gap. So, it produces the hydrogen at a rate of 41 µmol g‐1 h‐1. The π‐π interaction between the MOF and rGO enhanced the conductivity and reduced the electron (e‐) and hole (h+) recombination. Thus, the enhanced activity obtained for UZFG is 61.6 µmol g‐1 h‐1. The formation of the mixed metal MOFs was confirmed by their crystallinity, Fe‐O bond formation. It was proven by XRD and XAF. The π‐π interaction between the MOF and rGO was confirmed by RAMAN spectra and FT‐IR. This work offers a sustainable method for producing hydrogen fuel through photocatalysis through water splitting.