In situ growth of MIL-88A into polyacrylate and its application in highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water

The development of a green, efficient, and reusable photocatalyst is of great importance for degradation of organic pollutants in water. Herein, MIL-88A@PA, a composite consisting of macroporous polyacrylate (PA) and metal organic frameworks (MOFs), was prepared by suspension polymerization, amine functionalization, and insitu growth of MOFs. The nanosized MIL-88A of only 50-100 nm in diameter was reduced by approximately 90% owing to the control of heterogeneous nucleation and growth. More catalytic active sites were exposed and the photocatalytic activity of MIL-88A was significantly improved. The specific surface area of MIL-88A was increased from 132.79 to 219.78 m2/g owing to the decreased crystal size, and the corresponding degradation rate constant of Rhodamine B (RhB) was 9.4 times than that of pure MIL-88A. Under visible light irradiation, RhB could be completely degraded in 60 min using MIL-88A@PA with a loading amount of 45%. The degradation rate was still 97% after 5 cycles. The high photocatalytic activity of MIL-88A@PA can be attributed to the effective separation of photogenerated carriers, lower transfer resistance, and more active sites. The composite MIL88A@PA material exhibits high stability and photocatalytic activity, which offers the potential in environmental cleaning.

Automated summary

The development of a green, efficient, and reusable photocatalyst is crucial for organic pollutants degradation in water. The MIL-88A@PA composite showed significantly improved photocatalytic activity, with a higher surface area and degradation rate compared to pure MIL-88A. The composite material exhibited high stability and reusability, making it promising for environmental cleaning applications.