Photoactive hybrid porous solids for overall water splitting – MOFtoH2

Solar energy assisted overall water splitting (OWS) has emerged as a low-cost green technology to produce sustainable H2. Current photocatalysts suffer from a lack of viable solar-to-hydrogen (STH) energy conversion efficiency, stability under operation, easy synthesis routes, or inactivity under visible light irradiation. Based on a recent bimetallic Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) we discovered that exhibits a remarkable OWS efficiency under visible light, the project targets an understanding of the OWS mechanism through a combination of advanced experimental and computational efforts, to decipher the key structural and chemical features that govern this outstanding performance and establish a photophysical/structure-activity relationship. The performance and durability of the catalysts using a solar light demonstrator will be equally addressed. This knowledge will guide us to design new generations of MOFs with superior STH efficiency and durability while meeting the cost threshold.