Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution using ZIF-based materials: Recent progress and review of modification strategies

Solar water splitting for hydrogen production has gained significant attention as a key technology for the realization of clean and sustainable energy systems that can replace fossil fuels. Among various photocatalytic materials, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have emerged as promising candidates because of their excellent thermal and chemical stability, high specific surface areas, and tunable structural diversity. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent progress in the investigations of hydrogen evolution using ZIF-based photocatalysts. The influences of the synthesis method, metal nodes, and ligands on the structural and physical properties of the ZIFs are examined in detail. In addition, this work explores four major strategies for enhancing the efficiency of hydrogen production: doping, multimetallic systems, heterojunction formation, and post-synthetic modification. The stability of the ZIF photocatalysts was also evaluated, and future research directions are proposed for further performance improvement.