Evaluation of Ce-MOFs as Photoanode Materials for the Water Oxidation Reaction: The Effect of Doping with [Ru(bpy)(dcbpy)(H2O)2]2+ Catalyst

Artificial photosynthesis stands out as a highly effective method for harnessing sunlight to produce clean and renewable energy. The light-absorbing properties, chemical stability, and high redox activity of Ce-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) make them attractive materials for visible-light-driven water splitting. Currently, Ce-based MOFs remain a relatively underexplored system for photocatalytic water oxidation in acidic media. In this study, we synthesized a Ce-MOF with different linkers (1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, tetrafluoroterephthalic acid, 2-nitroterephthalic acid, 2,2′-bipyridine-5,5′-dicarboxylic acid, and 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid), which exhibit light-absorbing capability. Ce-based MOFs doped with [Ru(bpy)(dcbpy)(H2O)2]2+ (MOF-1 and MOF-2) water oxidation catalyst showed an enhanced photoelectrocatalytic current of ∼10–4 A·cm–2 at pH = 1, which is comparable with the [Ru(bpy)(dcbpy)(H2O)2]2+-doped MIL-126 Fe-based MOF. We also demonstrated the long-term durability of Ru-doped Ce-MOFs for photoelectrocatalytic water oxidation under acidic conditions. The as-synthesized MOFs were analyzed with powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electric conductivity measurements. This study contributes to the development of cost-effective materials for sustainable photocatalytic water splitting processes.