Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (11): 100329.doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2026.100329

• ARTICLE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Strong built-in electric field promoted by π-π stacking charge-transfer channels in HOFs/MOFs S-scheme heterojunction for boosting photocatalytic H2 or H2O2 production

Qinghong Cai1, Xingyan Liu1, Yuhan Li1, Youzhou He1, Xianyan Xu2, Jia Zeng1, Siping Wei3   

  1. 1 Chongqing Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis, College of Environment and Resources, Institute for Frontier Interdisciplinary Research in Intelligence and Environment, School of Big Data, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing 400067, China;
    2 School of Chemistry and Civil Engineering, Shaoguan University, Shaoguan 512005, Guangdong Province, China;
    3 Green Pharmaceutical Technology Key Laboratory of Luzhou City, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China
  • Received:2026-03-26 Revised:2026-05-08 Accepted:2026-05-21 Published:2026-09-29
  • Contact: Xingyan Liu, Yuhan Li, Siping Wei E-mail:liuxingyan@ctbu.edu.cn;liyh@ctbu.edu.cn;swei1225@swmu.edu.cn

Abstract: Despite hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) and metal-organic framework (MOFs) exhibit distinct advantages in photocatalysis, the fabrication of HOFs/MOFs heterojunction remains scarcely explored. In particular, the deep-seated charge transfer dynamics in such heterojunctions remain unclear. Herein, in situ coupling HOFs (SA-TCPP) and MOFs (ZnTCPP) through π-π interaction to fabricate the porphyrin-based HOFs/MOFs (SA-TCPP/ZnTCPP) S-scheme heterojunction with strong built-in electric field (IEF), in which the optimal IEF intensity for SA-TCPP/ZnTCPP was increased by 11.5 and 4.9 times compared to individual SA-TCPP and ZnTCPP, respectively. Within the SA-TCPP/ZnTCPP S-scheme heterojunction system, the contact interface serves as the charge carriers regulation centers to promote IEF pumps strength via π-π stacking HOMO-LOMO charge-transfer channels, which adjusts the precise direction of spatial separation for photogenerated charge carriers and triggers a sophisticated cascade reactions via “photoexcitation-migration channel-pump acceleration” strategy. Compared with the individual SA-TCPP and ZnTCPP, the photocatalytic rate of H2 (2307 μmol g-1 h-1) and H2O2 (295.2 μmol g-1 h-1) for SA-TCPP/ZnTCPP increased 7.02 times, 5.6 times and 3.09 times, 2.85 times, respectively. The significant improvement can be ascribed to the efficient separation efficiency of charge carriers, which has been elucidated by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fs-TAS), kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (in situ XPS) and density functional theory (DFT). This work achieves the cross-functional integration of frameworks, providing a novel design strategy for developing excellent and multifunctional artificial photosynthesis systems.

Key words: HOFs/MOFs, Built-in electric field, S-scheme heterojunctions, π-π stacking charge-transfer channels, Photocatalysis