Harvesting the photoexcited holes on a photocatalytic proton reduction metal–organic framework

Jara Garcia Santaclara, Alma Olivos Suarez, Indy du Fossé, Arjan Houtepen, J Hunger, Freek Kapteijn, Jorge Gascon, Monique van der Veen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

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Abstract

The highly porous titanium based metal–organic framework NH2-MIL-125(Ti) has recently attracted significant attention in the field of photocatalysis as a promising material for H+ reduction. This work reveals charge transfer upon visible light illumination from this MOF to two different charge acceptors, as an alternative to sacrificial electron donors. Charge transfer is demonstrated through a combined spectroscopic study between this MOF and: (1) 2-(1H-pyrazol-3-yl)phenol, a molecule that functionally mimics the tyrosine–histidine pair, responsible for shuttling the holes to the oxygen evolving centre in natural photosynthesis, and (2) TEMPO, a well known and stable radical. Charge transfer of the holes from the MOF to these occluded molecules takes place on the picosecond time scale. This work suggests that, by coupling a stable and recyclable charge acceptor to the photogenerated holes, the charges can be utilised for oxidation reactions and, thus, link the reduction to the oxidation reactions in water splitting.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)71-86
JournalFaraday Discussions
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Mar 2017

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