Hydrothermally synthesized Mo/Zr-MOF photocatalyst for promoting the removal of Cr6+ under visible light

The development of highly efficient photocatalysts for the degradation of organic dyes and heavy metal ions is necessary to control pollution in the environment and further human health. We report nMo/Zr-MOFs (n=1, 2, 3, and 4, nMZMs) synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method for efficient photocatalytic Cr6+ reduction for the first time. Among all the prepared samples, 2MZMs shows the highest photocatalytic performance with a degradation rate of 94.36% for methylene blue and 91.20% for Cr6+ under visible light irradiation for 120 min and 100 min respectively. The ESR experiments reveal that & BULL;O-2 (-) and & BULL;OH play a major role. This finding proves great potential for the design and application of MOFs nanomaterials and might bring considerable application prospects for photocatalysis of organic pollutants and heavy metal ions in polluted water.