Synthesis and Characterization of MOF-on-MOF Hybrid for the Application of Photocatalysis

Abstract

Metal organic frameworks, made-up of organic ligands and inorganic connections used for extensive applications. The current study focused on the synthesis of efficient novel ZIF-67@MIL-96(Al) core shell hybrid for effective electrocatalytic water splitting. Hybrid was synthesized by solvothermal approach in which ZIF-67 serves as a shell and MIL-96(Al) as a core. For enhancing their stability novel hybrid was modified with CTAB and APTES. Synthesized and modified hybrids were characterized by IR and XRD, which were used to analyze the crystallinity and functional groups. The characterization peaks describe the successful formation of MOFs, MOF on MOF Hybrid & Modified Hybrids. The performance of this core shell novel material in terms of its ability to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction in the process of water splitting was then assessed. The novel ZIF-67@MIL-96(Al) hybrid exhibits a very low overpotential of 210 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH, as well as a Tafel slope of 62 mV dec−1. These performance metrics surpass those of both ZIF-67 & MIL-96(Al), which has overpotential of 272 mV 240 mV and Tafel values are 75 mV.dec-1 & 82 mV. dec-1. Furthermore, the electrode that was constructed exhibited remarkable chemical stability, therefore generating new opportunities for studying water splitting electrocatalysts which are essential for sustainable energy conversion. Hierarchical nanoarrays with core-shelled structure maximize active sites and efficient mass & electron transit increased electrochemical reaction surface area. This study describes a simple way to make excellent electrocatalysts for electrolysis of water, storage, and electrochemical energy conversion applications.