Reduced graphene oxide-supported metal organic framework as a synergistic catalyst for enhanced performance on...

In this work, reduced graphene oxide/metal organic framework composites (RGO/MOF) have been fabricated for the purpose of activating persulfate (PS) successfully first time. Benefiting from the abundant active sites of composites and the excellent electron conductivity arising from repaired large π conjugate plane structure, RGO/MIL-101(Fe) performed better than RGO and MIL-101(Fe) for PS activation and organic compounds degradation from aqueous. The physical-chemical properties of composite catalysts were fully characterized and the applications to the catalytic degradation of trichlorophenol (TCP) were evaluated. The results showed that RGO/MIL-101(Fe) could effectively degrade TCP, under the reaction conditions of pH 3.0, 20 mg/L TCP, 20 mM PS, 0.5 g/L catalyst, and the removal efficiency is 92% in 180 min. Furthermore, chemical reduction and thermal process played key role in regulating defect levels and electron transfer channels. The obtained adsorptive and conductive graphene allow rapid electron transport between free radicals and enriched contaminants. These advancements of the structure and chemical properties were beneficial to improve the catalytic activity in the activation of PS. Finally, a possible activation mechanism was also investigated, which involved the prevailing free radical pathway and recessive non-radical pathway.