One-pot synthesis of C-dots/UiO-66-NH2 with enhanced photocatalytic activity for degrading ketoprofen

Abstract C-dots and metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have a wide range of applications in the field of photocatalysis. Here, C-dots/UiO-66-NH2 composites were successfully synthesized by a simple one-pot method. The synthesized samples were characterized by XRD, Raman, SEM, TEM, EDS, Mapping, UV-vis DRS, and PL spectra. Compared with UiO-66-NH2, the absorption edge of C-dots/UiO-66-NH2 extended from 439 nm to 534 nm. The experiments of photocatalytic degrading ketoprofen under visible-light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm) showed that C-dots/UiO-66-NH2 demonstrated stronger photocatalytic activity than UiO-66-NH2 for degrading ketoprofen (1.87 times that of UiO-66-NH2) and degraded 92% in 1 h. The improved photocatalytic activity was mostly caused by the reduced band gap and interfaces between UiO-66-NH2 and C-dots, absorbing more visible light and inhibiting electron-holes recombination.