Interfacial assembly and hydrolysis for synthesizing a TiO2/metal-organic framework composite

Herein we propose an interfacial assembly and hydrolysis route for fabricating TiO2/UiO-67 composites. The UiO-67 assembles at the water-oil interface serving as a stabilizer of the emulsion. TiO2 nanoparticles are loaded on UiO-67 by hydrolysis of the precursor TBT (tetra-n-butyl titanate) at the wateroil interface. By such a strategy, hollow capsules structured by UiO-67 and decorated by ultra-small TiO2 nanoparticles were produced. The newly-constructed composite combines the CO2 adsorption properties of UiO-67 and the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, showing high activity for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to formic acid. Such a composite with a novel structure provides a promising route for the preparation of new compound materials.