Synthesis of a Zr 4 (embonate) 6 -cobalt based superstructure for photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Herein, we report an efficient method to construct cage-based MOF materials with exposed metal active sites for catalysis. By employing Zr 4 L 6 (L = embonate) cages as precursors for assembly with N-containing ligands and Co 2+ ions, a new Zr 4 L 6 -Co based chain structure (PTC-318) has been generated through two-step reactions. Interestingly, in the absence of a photosensitizer, PTC-318 exhibits notable photocatalytic activity for H 2 evolution under visible-light irradiation.