Enhanced photocatalytic performance over PANI/NH2-MIL-101(Fe) with tight interfacial contact

Abstract

Constructing a suitable heterojunction structure while maintaining a tight interface to promote the separation of photogenerated electrons is of great significance for improving the photocatalytic activity. In this paper, a new PANI/NH₂-MIL-101(Fe) II-scheme heterojunction was prepared by a hydrothermal method. PANI with a porous structure was firstly obtained by the template method, and then PANI fragments were loaded on the surface of NH₂-MIL-101(Fe) crystals under hydrothermal conditions to obtain a PANI/NH₂-MIL-101(Fe) photocatalyst. The photocatalytic degradation of TC under simulated sunlight can reach 90% within an hour, and the maximum hydrogen evolution rate is 7040 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under visible light. The enhanced catalytic performance of PANI/NH₂-MIL-101(Fe) was attributed to the appropriate matching of the VB and CB of PANI and NH₂-MIL-101(Fe), and secondly, the coordination bonds formed between PANI and NH₂-MIL-101(Fe) provided a channel for charge separation and transfer. Finally, a possible mechanism of the photocatalytic system was proposed through a free radical capture experiment and characterization analysis. More importantly, the experiment proved that the heterojunction formed by PANI and NH₂-MIL-101(Fe) can achieve the effect of complementing each other, which provides a feasible idea and method for the design of efficient heterojunction photocatalysts.