Interfacial assembly and hydrolysis for synthesizing a TiO₂/metal-organic framework composite

Herein we propose an interfacial assembly and hydrolysis route for fabricating TiO₂/UiO-67 composites. The UiO-67 assembles at the water-oil interface serving as a stabilizer of the emulsion. TiO₂ nanoparticles are loaded on UiO-67 by hydrolysis of the precursor TBT (tetra-n-butyl titanate) at the water-oil interface. By such a strategy, hollow capsules structured by UiO-67 and decorated by ultra-small TiO₂ nanoparticles were produced. The newly-constructed composite combines the CO₂ adsorption properties of UiO-67 and the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂, showing high activity for the photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to formic acid. Such a composite with a novel structure provides a promising route for the preparation of new compound materials.