PANI/FeUiO-66 nanohybrids with enhanced visible-light promoted photocatalytic activity for the selectively aerobic oxidation of aromatic alcohols

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a new class of porous crystalline materials, have attracted great interest as fascinating applications for eco-friendly photocatalysts. In this study, new hybrid MOFs, iron doped zirconium based metal-organic frameworks, FeUiO-66, were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method firstly. Then the PANI/FeUiO-66 nanohybrids were fabricated through annealing process. The photocatalytic performances of the obtained PANI/FeUiO-66 nanohybrids were evaluated by selectively oxidation of various alcohol substrates using molecular oxygen as a benign oxidant. Boosting by synergistically multi-doped effect, the catalytic activity of the novel PANI/FeUiO-66 is remarkably higher than that of bare UiO-66 under visible light irradiation at ambient temperature. Further analyses revealed that the enhancement of photocatalytic activity originated from the two aspects. On one hand, when the Fe doped into the framework, valence fluctuation of Fe2+/Fe3+ could reduce the recombination rate of photoexcited carriers. On the other hand, based on energy band matching between FeUiO-66 and PANI, the easily formed heterostructures from PANI and FeUiO-66 can efficiently enhance the separation of photogenerated carriers. Furthermore, by virtue of unique advantage of the position of the CB and VB of FeUiO-66, alcohols could be selectively oxidized by the O2− and h+. Remarkably, it is expected that the MOF-conductive conjugated polymers nanohybrids could be used as efficient visible light driven photocatalysts for organic transformation with high selectivity under eco-friendly conditions.