UiO-67-bipy@CuII formate as a catalyst precursor for the production of hydrogen gas from formic acid under mild conditions

Abstract

The growing demand for hydrogen as a clean energy carrier has intensified interest in efficient and sustainable generation strategies. Herein, we report a Cu-functionalised UiO-67-bipy catalyst precursor for hydrogen production via the mild decomposition of formic acid. Prior density functional theory (DFT) studies on model CuI–phenanthroline/bipyridine systems identified a two-step catalytic cycle involving CuI hydrides and CuI formates. Motivated by these findings, a UiO-67-bipy framework was post-synthetically modified with CuII formate to yield UiO-67-bipy@CuII formate, which upon treatment with l-ascorbic acid generate a catalytically active species. ICP–OES, IR spectroscopy, EPR spectr..