Rational design of BODIPY-functionalized MOF photocatalysts for highly efficient hydrogen production


Creative Commons License

Coşkun Z., Yıldız Gül E., Topaloğlu Aksoy B., SEIFI NADERGOLI A., TANRIVERDİ EÇİK E., Çoşut B.

Dalton Transactions, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1039/d6dt00551a
  • Dergi Adı: Dalton Transactions
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO)
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Photocatalytic hydrogen production through water reduction, driven by hydrogen's high energy density and environmental sustainability, represents a significant pathway for meeting future energy needs and is considered one of the most promising strategies. A major challenge is developing a photocatalyst that is sustainable, stable, and environmentally friendly and has a large surface area. Although various MOF-based photocatalysts incorporating porphyrins, phthalocyanines, or other organic dyes have been extensively explored, studies utilizing BODIPY as a functional chromophore remain scarce. The combination of MOFs with BODIPY units offers a unique platform that couples the structural tunability and stability of MOFs with the excellent light-harvesting and electron-accepting properties of the BODIPY dyes. However, strategies for the systematic design and synthesis of BODIPY–MOF hybrid photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution are still very limited. In this study, the UiO-66-NH2 structure was modified with BODIPY compounds containing thiophene (BD2) and phenyl (BD4) units, resulting in the synthesis of BD2/UiO-66-NH2 and BD4/UiO-66-NH2, respectively. As a result of the 6-hour photocatalytic water splitting experiments, the reaction kinetics of UiO-66-NH2, BD2/UiO-66-NH2, and BD4/UiO-66-NH2 were calculated to be 3013 μmol g−1 h−1, 14 237 μmol g−1 h−1 (4.7-fold increase compared to UiO-66-NH2), and 21 179 μmol g−1 h−1 (7-fold increase compared to UiO-66-NH2), respectively. Based on the band structure and photoelectrochemical results, the observed behavior is consistent with the S-scheme charge-transfer pathway for the photocatalytic process. This study provides new insights into integrating BODIPY chromophores into MOF frameworks, establishing a promising design concept for the development of efficient dye–MOF hybrid photocatalysts for solar-to-hydrogen conversion.