TiO2@UiO‐66 Composites with Efficient Adsorption and Photocatalytic Oxidation of VOCs: Investigation of Synergistic Effects and Reaction Mechanism

TiO2@UiO-66 composite with intimate contact interfaces is fabricated by in situ solvothermal methods. Compared with other UiO-based composites, TiO2@UiO-66 exhibits superior photocatalytic activity for oxidation of toluene into CO2 during long-time reaction under flowing conditions. This is because (1) the intimate contact interface and well-matched band structure between TiO2 and UiO-66 can effectively separate and transfer photogenerated electrons; (2) the synergistic effect between UiO-66 and TiO2 promotes the adsorption of toluene and desorption of CO2 and provides sufficient active sites for photocatalytic reaction. The toluene conversion and CO2 production on 4TiO(2)@U are 3.27 and 4.10 times higher than that on UiO-66, respectively. 4TiO(2)@U also shows the highest activity for formaldehyde and rhodamine B degradations. The in situ FTIR results exhibit that toluene can be oxidized by O-.(2)- and h(+) to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid, then further oxidized to oxalic acid, and finally mineralized into CO2 and H2O.