Nitrogen-fluorine-codoped TiO2/Zn based MOF binary composites for efficient removal of bisphenol A under visible light

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental estrogen in daily life, and it often appears in sewage, surface water and even drinking water. It will accumulate in the human body and threaten physical health. We prepared a visible light-driven N-F-TiO2/ZIF-8 photocatalyst through an in situ heterogeneous deposition method. The prepared samples were further analysed by XRD, SEM, TEM, PL spectroscopy and UV-vis DRS. Binary N-F-TiO2/ZIF-8 had a good effect on the degradation of BPA under visible light irradiation. It was determined through experiments that the optimal dosage of N-F-TiO2/ZIF-8 (7:3) was 10 mg with the highest observed photocatalytic activity (86.1%). The high adsorption capacity of ZIF-8 was due to its large specific surface area. The improvement of photocatalytic activity was mainly due to the high separation rate of electron-hole pairs of N-F-TiO2/ZIF-8. N-F-TiO2/ZIF-8 also had good stability after five cycles of photodegradation reaction. In addition, the free radical capture experiment confirmed that (OH)-O-center dot was the main active substance for the photocatalytic degradation of BPA. In addition, the removal ability of bisphenol A by the binary composite in real water was studied using lake water.

Automated summary

BPA, an environmental estrogen, can be found in sewage, surface water, and even drinking water, posing a threat to human health. A visible light-driven N-F-TiO2/ZIF-8 photocatalyst was prepared and showed good degradation effect on BPA. The optimal dosage of N-F-TiO2/ZIF-8 was determined to be 10 mg with the highest photocatalytic activity (86.1%). The high adsorption capacity of ZIF-8 and the high separation rate of electron-hole pairs of N-F-TiO2/ZIF-8 contributed to the improved photocatalytic activity. The (OH)-O-center dot was confirmed as the main active substance for the photocatalytic degradation of BPA. The binary composite also exhibited good stability after multiple cycles of photodegradation reaction.