Facile Fabrication of Bi2O2CO3/MOF-801 Nanocomposites for Efficient Photodegradation of Noxious RhB Pollutants

Photocatalytic organic pollutant degradation offers new perspectives for sustainable sunlight utilization and wastewater purification. In this study, the flower-like Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 (BOC) nanosheets were incorporated into zirconium-based MOFs (MOF-801) for the construction of BOC@MOF-801 heterojunction nanocomposites, through a simple one-pot hydrothermal route to remove persistent rhodamine B (RhB) dye efficiently. The as-synthesized photocatalysts were systematically characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDS, N 2 physisorption, TG, XPS, UV-Vis DRS, PL, transient photocurrent, and EIS techniques. The results of all characterization studies confirmed that the incorporation of BOC into MOF-801 improved the textural properties, visible light response-ability, and the formation of heterojunctions with better charge transport. All BOC@MOF-801 photocatalysts show high activity, with the BOC@MOF-801-0.2 nanocomposite reaching 98.8% RhB (50 mg/L) degradation after 120 min under visible radiation, superior to individual BOC and MOF-801. This improvement possibly due to the relatively high specific surface area (316.2 m 2 /g), suitable pore volume (0.17 cm 3 /g), mesoscale pore size (3.2 nm), narrowed band gap (3.22 eV), and higher photocurrent. Importantly, the free radical scavenging experiment exhibited that holes and · O 2 − radicals are the main species responsible during photodegradation. Moreover, a potential mechanism for the breakdown of RhB dye is also discussed. This research highlighted an efficient way to develop MOFs-based heterojunction hybrid materials for environmental remediation applications. Graphical Zirconium-based MOFs (MOF-801) supported Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 nanocomposites (BOC@MOF-801) were successfully synthesized via a simple one-pot hydrothermal route, which was subsequently applied to photocatalytic degradation of organic dye.