Fabrication of novel eco-friendly visible-light responsive MIL88A decorated with uniform titanium dioxide for efficient phenol removal

Decorating an eco-friendly MOF with active species that can minimize electron–hole recombination can be very effective in photocatalytic reactions. Herein, a one-pot method is proposed in which, simultaneously with the growth of MIL88A crystals, TiO₂ nanoparticles are uniformly placed on the MOF surface and produce TiO₂/MIL88A (TMA-X) composites. Therefore, the optimal conditions were chosen in such a way that the uniform decoration of TiO₂ on MIL88A was observed. The results showed that TMA-10 composite produced in optimum conditions has better performance than others, and the rate of phenol degradation can reach 95% within 45 min under visible-light radiation. The band gap and band structure of the composite were investigated by DRS and Mott–Schottky. Also, trapping experiments prove that ^•O₂⁻ and ^•OH are predominant active radicals in the photocatalytic reaction. Moreover, the composite showed good reusability and stability during repeated use, making it an attractive candidate for practical environmental applications.