Control of bulk homochirality and proton conductivity in isostructural chiral metal-organic frameworks.

We have demonstrated for the first time that isostructural homochiral metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be synthesized directly from chiral ligands and indirectly from achiral ligands via spontaneous resolution combined with cooperative chirality induction, respectively. Moreover, the usage of different ligands leads to distinct proton conduction behaviors.

Metal-complex chromophores for solar hydrogen generation.

Solar H2 generation from water has been intensively investigated as a clean method to convert solar energy into hydrogen fuel. During the past few decades, many studies have demonstrated that metal complexes can act as efficient photoactive materials for photocatalytic H2 production. Here, we review the recent progress in the application of metal-complex chromophores to solar-to-H2 conversion, including metal-complex photosensitizers and supramolecular photocatalysts. A brief overview of the fundamental principles of photocatalytic H2 production is given. Then, different metal-complex photosensitizers and supramolecular photocatalysts are introduced in detail, and the most important factors that strictly determine their photocatalytic performance are also discussed. Finally, we illustrate some challenges and opportunities for future research in this promising area.

MoS2 Nanosheet-Modified CuInS2 Photocatalyst for Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogen Production from Water.

Exploiting photocatalysts respond to visible light is of huge challenge for photocatalytic H2 production. Here, we synthesize a new composite material consisting of few-layer MoS2 nanosheets grown on CuInS2 surface as an efficient photocatalyst for solar H2 generation. The photocatalytic results demonstrate that the 3 wt % MoS2 /CuInS2 photocatalyst exhibits the highest H2 generation rate of 316 µmol h(-1) g(-1) under visible light irradiation, which is almost 28 times higher than that of CuInS2 . Importantly, the MoS2 /CuInS2 photocatalyst shows a much higher photocatalytic activity than that of Pt-loaded CuInS2 photocatalyst. The enhanced photocatalytic activities of MoS2 /CuInS2 photocatalysts can be attributed to the improved charge separation at the interface of MoS2 and CuInS2, which is demonstrated by the significant enhancement of photocurrent responses in MoS2 /CuInS2 photoelectrodes. This work presents a noble-metal-free photocatalyst that responds to visible light for solar H2 generation.