Fabrication of a Covalent Organic Framework-Based Heterojunctionvia Coupling with ZnAgInS Nanosphere with High PhotocatalyticActivity

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) exhibitvisible-light activity for the degradation of organic pollutants.However, the recombination rates of their photoinduced electron-hole pairs are relatively high, limiting their practical application. Inthis work, we fabricated a 1,3,5-triformylphloroglucinol (Tp) andp-phenylenediamine (Pa-1) (TpPa-1) COF-based heterojunctionthrough coupling the TpPa-1 COF with a ZnAgInS nanosphere viaa facile oil bath heating method. The results show that theprepared heterojunction exhibits outstanding catalytic activity forthe degradation of high concentrations the antibiotic tetracycline(TC) and the dye rhodamine B (RhB), which is driven bysimulated sunlight. Its degradation rates for RhB and TC were 30xand 18xhigher than that of the pure TpPa-1 COF, respectively.The greatly enhanced photocatalytic performances can be ascribed to the formed heterojunction with good band-gap match, whichpromotes the migration and separation of light-induced electrons and holes and increases both light absorbance and the specificsurface area. This study introduces an effective and feasible strategy for improving the photocatalytic performances of COFs viasubtly integrating TpPa-1 COFs with a ZnAgInS nanosphere into an organic-inorganic hybrid. The results of the photocatalyticexperiments indicate that the fabricated hybrid has a potential application in the highly efficient removal of organic pollutants.

Automated summary

This research improves the photocatalytic performance of COFs by forming a heterojunction with ZnAgInS nanospheres, resulting in enhanced degradation of organic pollutants.