Ni2P derived from Ni-MOF supported on UiO-66-NH2 to boost CdS photocatalytic hydrogen production

A reasonable introduction of MOFs-derived Ni 2 P with high dispersion is a valid way to reduce the recombination rate of photogenerated electron holes , thus enabling more effective visible light-driven water splitting. Herein, the MOF-on-MOF strategy was used to prepare Ni 2 P@UiO-66-NH 2 by in situ growth of Ni-MOF on UiO-66-NH 2 followed by vapor-phase phosphating, and the composite photocatalyst of CdS/Ni 2 P@UiO-66-NH 2 was obtained by a facile ultrasound method in solvent. UiO-66-NH 2 provides the growth site for Ni-MOF, enabling uniform dispersion of Ni 2 P and the firmly anchoring of CdS. By adjusting the proportion of Ni 2 P@UiO-66-NH 2 , the light absorption capacity and photocatalytic activity can be further optimized. The hydrogen production efficiency of CdS/Ni 2 P@UiO-66-NH 2 can reach up to 2103 µmol·g −1 ·h −1 , which is about 7 times higher than that of pure CdS. The improvement of the photocatalytic performance of CdS/Ni 2 P@UiO-66-NH 2 composites can be mainly ascribed to the increased active sites exposure, well dispersion of CdS, and the creation of multiple heterojunctions , which tune the band gap, broaden the visible light absorption, and facilitate the carrier separation. This work offers an efficient synthetic strategy for creating ternary composites with remarkable catalytic activity and high stability for hydrogen evolution .