A Novel BODIPY-Based-MOF Photocatalyst for Efficient Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogen Evolution

The emergence of photoactive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) holds great promise for photocatalytic materials applied as visible-light driven hydrogen evolution. In this study, a pillared-paddlewheel type metal-organic framework [Zn2(BODIPY)(BPDC)2]·H2O (denoted as CCNU-1) featuring BODIPY struts, and capable of efficiently harvesting visible light from 200 to 800 nm, has been fabricated, which is thought to be the first BODIPY-based-MOF decorated with Pt co-catalyst for efficient photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible-light illumination. Impressively, Pt/CCNU-1 exhibited a remarkable H2 production rate as high as 4680 mol·g-1·h-1 with the use of L-ascorbic acid as a sacrificial reagent from an aqueous medium, and a high apparent quantum efficiency of 9.06% at 420 nm. To our knowledge, Pt/CCNU-1 is the most visible-light photoactive Pt/MOFs material for H2 evolution from water hitherto, demonstrating the intriguing future of MOF materials in solar-to-chemical energy. This work provides important insights into the design of MOF-based materials for visible-light-responsive photocatalysts for water reduction.