In situ thermal solvent-free synthesis of doped ZIF-8 as a highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst
Journal
RSC Applied Interfaces
Journal Volume
2
Journal Issue
3
Start Page
741
End Page
754
ISSN
2755-3701
Date Issued
2025
Author(s)
Naz, Farah
Mak, Chun Hong
Wang, Zhe
Tong, Haihang
Santoso, Shella Permatasari
Du, Minshu
Kai, Ji-Jung
Hsieh, Chang-Wei
Niu, Wenxin
Hu, Zheng
Hsu, Hsien-Yi
Abstract
Developing an economical and effective catalyst to remove organic pollutants from wastewater remains a significant challenge to maintaining a healthy, green environment. The metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have drawn considerable attention to renewable energy and environmental remediation due to their porous crystalline structure. In this context, we develop a straightforward, environmentally friendly, solvent-free, in situ thermal (IST) method to synthesize doped zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIF-8). The solvent-free IST technique surpasses the traditional synthesis procedures in efficiency due to a single-step and solvent-free process with a short processing time and a low precursor ratio. Notably, doped ZIF-8 photocatalysts against concentrated methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) degradation exhibit superior photocatalytic performance under visible light exposure. An in-depth study of the effect of dye concentration and pH on doped ZIF-8 is also performed. The kinetic study via photocatalytic isotherms confirms that the photodegradation mechanism follows the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Following active species trapping experiments, we confirm that the hydroxyl radicals play a substantial role in MB degradation with optimized Fe@ZIF-8. Moreover, the Fe@ZIF-8 does not significantly lose its photocatalytic activity for degrading MB after three cycles, indicating its enduring reusability and stability. Thus, this study provides a novel approach to developing the doped MOF as a photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic activity for wastewater treatment.
Subjects
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Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Type
journal article