A Shell‐Core Structure ZIF‐8@AgNWs for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue

Due to the wider bandgap and low electron discharge capacity, the zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF‐8) shows low photocatalytic performance compared with conventional semiconductor materials. To enhance the photocatalytic activity of ZIF‐8, the ZIF‐8@AgNWs composite is synthesized via the in situ growth method using silver nanowires (AgNWs) as the photo‐enhanced material. The obtained ZIF‐8@AgNWs exhibit the fully encapsulated shell‐core structure of ZIF‐8‐AgNWs. The UV−vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analysis shows that the addition of AgNWs leads to a significant increase in light absorption of the ZIF‐8@AgNWs composite, and the bandgap of the ZIF‐8@AgNWs is 2.9 eV, with a significant decrease compared to pure ZIF‐8 (4.96 eV). The ZIF‐8@AgNWs‐2 achieves the best photocatalytic activity for methylene blue (MB) degradation. Its degradation efficiency reaches 94%, and its apparent rate constant is 0.04371 min −1 . Herein, a novel strategy for the MOF‐based photocatalytic materials with higher photocatalytic activity is provided.