One-pot synthesis of oxygen-vacancy-rich Cu-doped UiO-66 for collaborative adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin

UiO-66, as one of the most stable metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), has attracted a lot of attention in the field of adsorption and photocatalysis. However, this application of UiO-66 is still limited due to either the low accessibility of micropores or the poor electron-hole charge separation capability. This study aims to promote UiO-66 accessibility of micropores and charge separation through the construction of oxygen vacancies (OVs) and mesopore defects as well as copper incorporation. Herein, mesopore Cu doped UiO-66 with rich OVs was synthesized by a one-pot method and demonstrated high efficiency for the removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) from the aquatic system. First of all, denatured mesopore defects were produced in Cu doped UiO-66 which possessed a 58% increase in specific surface area compared to UiO-66, facilitating the adsorption of molecular oxygen. Secondly, e- was preferentially trapped by OVs under light irradiation. Electron (e-) reacted rapidly with the surface adsorbed oxygen to generate superoxide radical (O2-). Meanwhile, copper incorporation increased the photocurrent and reduced the interfacial charge transfer resistance, thereby improving the charge separation efficiency. As a result, the adsorption efficiency and photocatalytic performance of mesopore Cu doped UiO-66 with OVs were 8.1 and 3.7 times higher than those of UiO-66, respectively. This study paved a way for the one-step synthesis of MOFs containing OVs and broadened the possibilities of practical applications for photo-induced removal of antibiotics from effluent.