Photocatalytic Hydrogen Peroxide Production through Functionalized Semiconductive Metal–Organic Frameworks

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) holds significance as a vital chemical with the potential to serve as an energy carrier. Compared with the conventional anthraquinone process, photocatalytic H2O2 production has emerged as an appealing alternative because of its energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. However, the existing photocatalysts suffer from low catalytic efficiency, limited tunability of optical properties, and reliance on sacrificial agents due to high energy loss caused by inefficient charge separation. Therefore, developing catalysts with tunable optical properties and efficient charge separation is desirable. In this work, we introduce postsynthetic functionalization into an electrically conductive metal-organic framework, namely, DPT-MOF. Leveraging DPT (3,6-di(4-pyridyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine) as a pillar ligand, we exploited click-type chemistry to manipulate band position and charge separation efficiency, allowing for photocatalytic nonsacrificial H2O2 production. Notably, the fluorine-functionalized MOF exhibited the highest H2O2 production rate of 1676 μmol g-1 h-1 under visible light in O2-saturated water among our other samples. This high production rate is attributed to the tuned electronic structure and prolonged charge lifetime facilitated by the fluorine groups. This work highlights the effectiveness of postsynthetic methodology in tuning optical properties, opening a promising avenue for advancing the field of semiconductive MOF-based photocatalysis.