Fabrication of ZIF-8/TiO2 electrospinning nanofibers for synergistic photodegradation in dyeing wastewater

Semiconductor-metal-organic framework (MOF) hybrid photocatalysts become a significant material to treating dyeing wastewater recently. Zinc-based metal-organic framework (ZIF-8) stands out among numerous photocatalysts for its stability and simplicity to prepare. In this work, the gourd-shaped ZIF-8/TiO2 nanocomposites are prepared in situ on anatase TiO2 by precursor method, and then ZIF-8/TiO2 nanocomposites is supported on PVDF electrospinning nanofibers by blending method to form ZIF-8/ TiO2 nanofibers (ZIF-8/TiO2 NFs). We compare the degradation ability of Rhodamine B by ZIF-8/TiO2 NFs with different mass ratios and load rates. When the mass ratio of ZIF-8 to TiO2 is 2:1 and the loading rate is 10%, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of ZIF-8/TiO2 NFs reached 95.4%, and the degrada-tion remained as high as 88.7% after cycling five times. The characterization results showed that ZIF-8 and TiO2 are connected by N -Ti -O chemical bond, which narrows the band gap and rebars the recombi-nation of the electron-hole pairs. The synergistic action of ZIF-8 and TiO2 largely improves the photocat-alytic capacity of ZIF-8/TiO2 NFs.& COPY; 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.

Automated summary

Semiconductor-metal-organic framework (MOF) hybrid photocatalysts, especially zinc-based metal-organic framework (ZIF-8), have shown great potential in treating dyeing wastewater. In this study, gourd-shaped ZIF-8/TiO2 nanocomposites were synthesized on anatase TiO2 and then supported on PVDF electrospinning nanofibers to form ZIF-8/TiO2 nanofibers (ZIF-8/TiO2 NFs). The ZIF-8/TiO2 NFs demonstrated high photocatalytic degradation efficiency of Rhodamine B, reaching 95.4% with a mass ratio of 2:1 and a loading rate of 10%. The synergistic action of ZIF-8 and TiO2 significantly enhanced the photocatalytic capacity of ZIF-8/TiO2 NFs.