Improving photocatalytic hydrogen production of metal–organic framework UiO-66 octahedrons by dye-sensitization

We used Erythrosin B dye to sensitize Zr-containing MOFs of UiO-66 octahedrons for photocatalytic H2 production. No H2 production was observed over Pt-loaded UiO-66 octahedrons under visible light irradiation. Comparatively, efficient hydrogen production was achieved upon visible light irradiation in this dye sensitized MOFs system. The highest H2 production rate of 4.6 μmol h−1, corresponding to 0.25% quantum efficiency at 420 nm, occurs from the system containing 10 mg MOFs photocatalyst and 30 mg Erythrosin B dye. The enhancement in photocatalytic H2 production was benefited from the efficient charge transfer from photoexcited Erythrosin B dye to the MOFs. Owing to the advantages of low cost, easy operation, and abundance in nature, the dye sensitized MOFs shows great potential for photocatalytic H2 production.