Ni 2 P NPs loaded on methylthio-functionalized UiO-66 for boosting visible-light-driven photocatalytic H 2 production.

The UiO-66 family shows promising photocatalytic prospects in water splitting for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation due to its suitable band gap and adequate active sites. In this work, novel Ni 2 P/UiO-66-(SCH 3 ) 2 composites were prepared by a simple solvothermal method. These as-synthesized samples were fully characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, EDS, and XPS methods. The effectiveness of visible light driven photocatalytic water-splitting to produce hydrogen was investigated in the presence of sacrificial agents. The results showed that the optimal hydrogen yield of 5 wt% Ni 2 P/UiO-66-(SCH 3 ) 2 is 3724.22 μmol g -1 h -1 , reaching almost 187 times that of pristine UiO-66-(SCH 3 ) 2 (19.93 μmol g -1 h -1 ). Meanwhile, long term cycling stability tests also showed that Ni 2 P/UiO-66-(SCH 3 ) 2 composites present an excellent photocatalytic H 2 production stability. Photoelectrochemical performance analysis revealed that the high catalytic activity of the composite materials could be associated with the synergistic effect of UiO-66-(SCH 3 ) 2 and Ni 2 P. Light stimulates UiO-66-(SCH 3 ) 2 to generate electrons and holes, and Ni 2 P as a cocatalyst could effectively transmit electrons and boost photogenerated charge separation. This work provides a reference for exploring UiO-66 family catalysts with good catalytic activity.