Zn(II) porphyrin sensitized (TiO2@Cd-MOF) nanocomposite aerogel as novel photocatalyst for the effective degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye

The highly porous three-dimensional TiO2@Cd-MOF (MOF -Metal-organic framework) nanocomposite aerogels were synthesized through a slightly modified version of the conventional sol-gel method used to synthesize mesoporous TiO2 aerogels. The as-prepared nanocomposite aerogels were further immersed in solutions of Zn(II) porphyrin (ZnPp) to obtain Zn(II) porphyrin-sensitized nanocomposite aerogel (TiO2@Cd-MOF)@ZnPp. The newly synthesized (TiO2@Cd-MOF)@ZnPp materials were used as novel heterogeneous photocatalyst and their photocatalytic performances were evaluated by testing the photodegradation of model pollutant methyl orange (MO) dye under visible-light irradiation. The obtained results showed that the heterogeneous photocatalysts exhibited a superior photocatalytic activity compared with pure aerogel and nanocomposite aerogel towards the degradation of pollutants. The maximum degradation efficiency of 94.1% was obtained for heterogeneous photocatalyst. Further, the results of recycle tests confirmed the good photostability of the photocatalyst. The synergistic effects of the heterostructure, an enhanced optical absorption, and efficient electron injection are the prime factors responsible for the photocatalytic activity improvement of (TiO2@Cd-MOF)@ZnPp photocatalysts.

Automated summary

Highly porous three-dimensional TiO2@Cd-MOF nanocomposite aerogels were synthesized and sensitized to enhance the photocatalytic activity for pollutant degradation. The nanocomposite aerogels exhibited superior photocatalytic performance under visible-light irradiation.