Efficient Solar-Driven Water Splitting Enabled by Perovskite Photovoltaics and a Halogen-Modulated Metal–Organic Framework Electrocatalyst

Solar-driven water splitting powered by photovoltaics enables efficient storage of solar energy in the form of hydrogen fuel. In this work, we demonstrate efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion using perovskite (PVK) tandem photovoltaics and a halogen-modulated metal-organic framework (MOF) electrocatalyst. By substituting tetrafluoroterephthalate (TFBDC) for terephthalic (BDC) ligands in a nickel-based MOF, we achieve a 152 mV improvement in oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential at 10 mA·cm2. Through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray adsorption structure (XAS) analysis, theoretical simulation, and electrochemical results, we demonstrated that the introduction of fluorine atoms enhanced the intrinsic activity of Ni sites as well as the transfer property and accessibility of the MOF. Using this electrocatalyst in a bias-free photovoltaic electrochemical (PV-EC) system with a PVK/organic tandem solar cell, we achieve 6.75% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency (ηSTH). We also paired the electrocatalyst with a PVK photovoltaic module to drive water splitting at 206.7 mA with ηSTH of 10.17%.