Zirconium metal‐organic framework supported highly‐dispersed nanosized BiVO 4 for enhanced visible‐light photocatalytic applications

BACKGROUND As a super stable zirconium based metal‐organic framework, Zr 6 (OH) 4 (C 8 H 6 O 4 ) 6 (UiO‐66) is considered a competitive candidate to conjugate with photocatalyst to enhance photocatalytic activity. In this study, highly dispersed bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) nanoparticles grown in situ upon the surfaces of UiO‐66 were synthesized through a simple method, and the photocatalytic activities were investigated by measuring the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. RESULTS The results show that UiO‐66@BiVO 4 composite with Bi:Zr molar ratio of (1:1) was the optimum hybrid and exhibited much higher photocatalytic activities than that of pure BiVO 4 . Furthermore, the photocatalyitc mechanism of RhB degradation by UiO‐66@BiVO 4 was also investigated, the photodegradation of RhB was mainly caused by the super oxide ions ( · O 2 − ). The lone pair electrons of surface group –OH and –COOH of UiO‐66 attract the photogenerated holes (h + ), which effectively prevent the recombination of electrons and holes. CONCLUSIONS The enhanced separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs through interfaces between BiVO 4 and UiO‐66 led to improvement of the photocatalytic activity. The study showed a degradation mechanism for RhB wasterwater treatment. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry