Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) constructed by ligands and metal clusters, have been considered as a promising material for photocatalytic water splitting. In this work, a solvent-assisted ligand exchange (SALE) method has been applied through partial reverse substitution of the ligand in NH2 -MIL-125 (Ti) by 1,4-dicarboxybenzene (BDC). This modification strategy can optimize the charge transfer dynamics together with the preserved light absorption, resulting in a 3.3 times higher hydrogen production rate compared to the pristine material under visible-light irradiation. This work broadens the field of ligand modifications of MOFs to boost the photocatalytic performance.
Keywords: ligand modifications; metal-organic frameworks; photocatalysis; solvent-assisted ligand exchange.
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