Issue 4, 2025

Light-induced charge transfer from a fullerene to a zeolitic imidazolate framework enhances alkaline electrocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

In the process of water electrolysis, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) suffers from a high energy barrier, which has become a key factor restricting the large-scale commercial application of renewable energy technology. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a durable, efficient, low-cost and environmentally friendly OER electrocatalyst. In the present work, a photo-responsive fullerene (C60) was encapsulated in the cavity of cobalt-containing flake-like zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (C60@F-ZIF-67). Benefiting from the light-induced charge/energy transfer from the fullerene carbon cage to the metal Co active sites, the as-synthesized C60@F-ZIF-67 exhibited remarkably enhanced OER activity under UV light irradiation. Specifically, the overpotential of 10 mA cm−2 for C60@F-ZIF-67 decreased from 465 mV in the dark to 324 mV under light in 1 M KOH, amounting to an activity improvement of approximately 30.32%. This work provides a new route for the design and construction of photo-assisted efficient electrocatalysts for water splitting.

Graphical abstract: Light-induced charge transfer from a fullerene to a zeolitic imidazolate framework enhances alkaline electrocatalytic hydrogen production

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Oct 2024
Accepted
02 Dec 2024
First published
03 Dec 2024

Nanoscale, 2025,17, 2193-2199

Light-induced charge transfer from a fullerene to a zeolitic imidazolate framework enhances alkaline electrocatalytic hydrogen production

J. Zhang, M. Gao, Y. Wang, Y. Wei, Y. Qi, Q. Liu, X. Li, Q. Ma, J. Huang and Y. Feng, Nanoscale, 2025, 17, 2193 DOI: 10.1039/D4NR04236K

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