Synthesis of Ti doped UiO-66(Zr)-NH2 systems as effective photocatalyst for hydrogen production

In this study, UiO-66(Zr)-NH 2 was synthesized with the addition of Ti using different preparation methods to enhance photocatalytic hydrogen production via methanol-water decomposition under UV irradiation. To date, the impact of various Ti incorporation strategies into the UiO-66(Zr)-NH 2 structure on hydrogen production has not been thoroughly investigated in a single study. Three synthesis methods - incorporation, metalation, and deposition were systematically investigated by several techniques, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic activity was found to correlate with both crystallite size and surface chemical composition, with smaller crystallites and a lower contribution of oxygen-containing species, as revealed by XPS, leading to improved hydrogen evolution. The most active photocatalyst obtained by one-pot synthesis (incorporation method) exhibited an increase in hydrogen production of almost 30% compared to pristine UiO-66(Zr)-NH 2 .