Incorporating Fe-O cluster in multivariate (MTV) metal-organic frameworks for promoting visible-light photo-Fenton degradation of micropollutants from water

Exploring efficient heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalysis is crucial for advanced water purification. In this study, a series of multivariate (MTV) metal-organic framework MIL-100 (Sc 0.98, 0.95, 0.87, 0.75, 0.58, Fe 0.02, 0.05, 0.13, 0.25 0.42) catalysts with increasing Fe contents were synthesized to effectively degrade micropollutants. By incorporating the Fe-O cluster into the framework, the degradation rate of sulfamethylthiazole (SMX) was improved 11.85 times over the MTV MIL-100 (Sc 0.58, Fe 0.42). The permanent porous structures and high surface areas (1597 m(2)/g - 1389 m(2) f/g) facilitated the adsorption processes. Results show that the initial adsorption rates for quinolone and anti-inflammatory groups were extremely high, with v0 = 463.16 - 407.15 mu g/g min. The modified material enhanced the visible-light absorption and facilitated the formation of reactive oxygen species (center dot OH, O-1(2), and O-2(center dot-)) under the irradiation of solar light. Electron paramagnetic resonance trapping technologies and quenching experiments were applied. The pathway for ROS formation under solar-light irradiation was proposed in detail. Aromatic intermediates were identified and quantitatively analyzed using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. We believe that this strategy of incorporating mixed metal clusters in MOFs offers useful guidance to improve the performance of current materials.

Automated summary

Exploring efficient heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalysis is crucial for advanced water purification. In this study, a series of multivariate metal-organic framework catalysts were synthesized, and by incorporating the Fe-O cluster into the framework, the degradation rate of SMX was significantly improved. The modified material enhanced visible-light absorption and facilitated the formation of reactive oxygen species, leading to further improvement in degradation efficiency.