Metal-Organic Framework Derived Terephthalate Ligand Decorated TiO2 with Various Morphologies for Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Evolution.

It has been rarely reported the morphological control of derivatives of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in hydrothermal conditions for photocatalytic applications. We report here a family of highly efficient composite photocatalysts composed of terephthalic acid/terephthalate (TPA) ligand and TiO2 with various morphologies (e. g., nanoparticles, nanosheets, and nanorods). The composites are synthesized by a simple one-step hydrothermal method in various solvents (i. e., H2 O, HF, H2 SO4 , HCl, and HNO3 ) using Ti-based MOF (MIL-125(Ti)) as precursor. The formation mechanism of composite materials with different morphological features is discussed. Impressively, the composite of TiO2 nanoparticles/TPA synthesized using H2 O as solvent under hydrothermal condition exhibits the highest photocatalytic H2 activity among the studied materials, with a photocatalytic H2 production rate of 6.38 mmol g-1 h-1 , which is approximately 7.5-fold higher than pure TiO2 (Degussa, P25) and prominent apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 65 % at 365 nm. Furthermore, the mechanism of boosted photocatalytic H2 production is discussed.