An Amine-Functionalized Zirconium Metal–Organic Polyhedron Photocatalyst with High Visible-Light Activity for Hydrogen Production

Metal–organic polyhedra (MOPs) are promising candidates for many potential applications; however, their use as photocatalysts for hydrogen production has yet to be developed. Herein, the photocatalytic performance of a water-stable Zr-MOP, ZrT-1-NH₂, was evaluated, for the first time, through photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under visible-light irradiation. ZrT-1-NH₂ shows clearly enhanced photocatalytic activity (510.42 μmol g^?1 h^?1) for hydrogen production, in comparison with that of other homogeneous crystalline materials. If platinum nanoparticles were introduced into the photocatalytic system, the hydrogen production efficiency of ZrT-1-NH₂ could be further improved. For ZrT-1-NH₂, the conspicuous improvement in photocatalysis can be attributed to efficient electron–hole separation, targeted electron transfer, and excellent recombination suppression. Furthermore, ZrT-1-NH₂ shows excellent stability during photocatalytic hydrogen evolution over five continuous runs. This work illustrates that MOP-based photocatalysts hold promise for broad applications in the domain of clean energy.