Rational design of PANI-UiO-66-NH2@Pt nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production

The development of efficient photocatalysts for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production remains a significant challenge. In this work, a novel PANI-UiO-66-NH2@Pt composite photocatalyst was successfully constructed for highly efficient photocatalytic H2O2 generation. The individual and synergistic roles of Pt nanoparticles and polyaniline (PANI) in modulating the photochemical and electronic properties of UiO-66-NH2 were systematically investigated. Characterization and performance tests revealed that the core-shell structured UiO-66-NH2@Pt effectively broadens the light absorption range, facilitates charge carrier separation, and simultaneously suppresses the decomposition of the produced H2O2. Meanwhile, the introduction of PANI further promotes the separation and migration of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. A significant synergistic effect between Pt and PANI was confirmed, which collectively enhances the overall photocatalytic performance of the UiO-66-NH2 framework. As a result, the optimized PANI-UiO-66-NH2@Pt composite achieved a remarkable H2O2 production rate of 521 μmol·g−1·h−1, which is 8.9 and 22.6 times higher than those of UiO-66-NH2@Pt and pristine UiO-66-NH2, respectively. This work provides valuable insights into the design of high-performance composite photocatalysts via multi-component synergy for solar fuel production.