Synthesis of visible light activated metal-organic framework coated on titania nanocomposite (MIL-53(Al)@TiO2) and dye photodegradation

Abstract Herein, MIL-53(Al)@TiO2 photocatalyst with high photocatalytic performance in the presence of visible light was favorably fabricated using a solvothermal method. Characterization of MIL-53(Al)@TiO2 was carried out by Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the ultraviolet visible diffused reflectance spectra (DRS), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses, and its photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye was investigated. Compared with MIL-53(Al) and TiO2, the photocatalytic activity of MIL-53(Al)@TiO2 composite under visible light irradiation was improved. This improvement is attributed to the strategy used in composite synthesis without blocked of any hole by TiO2 nanoparticles. The synthesized MIL-53(Al)@TiO2 nanocomposite degraded 95% of the MB in 240 min without any electron acceptor, while the decolorization of dye by MIL-53(Al) and TiO2 was 51% and 79%, respectively. The data also indicated that the dye degradation by MIL-53(Al)@TiO2 followed first-order kinetic with high correlation coefficient (0.9927).