Copper-based composites derived from metal-organic frameworks on carbohydrates-rich corncobs as efficient catalysts for organic compounds removal

Abstract It is of great significance to exploit environmentally friendly, efficient and economical catalysts for dealing with wastewater and other aquatic environments. In this study, a series of P-doped Cu/Cu2O/C heterostructures were obtained by controlled calcination of corncobs supported Cu-MOF in different temperature. Comprehensive structural characterizations indicate the polyhedron morphology and high porosity of HKUST-1-P@corncob-400. The composites were further explored as an efficient catalyst for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). Remarkably, HKUST-1-P@corncob-400 could efficiently catalyze the reduction of 4-NP, and the reduction could be finished within 90 s with a 4-aminophenol (4-AP) selectivity of >99%, demonstrating the excellent performance of Cu-based catalysts for 4-NP reduction. The application scope could be further expanded to the catalytic reduction of ofloxacin and a conversion of 95.7% could be achieved within 10 min. Reproducibility studies and characterizations comprehensively demonstrate the promising potential of HKUST-1-P@corncob-400 acting as efficient catalyst for the reductive removal of environmental pollutants. This work provides a facile strategy for the fabrication of highly active catalysts for high-performance environmental purification, and the employment of renewable bioresources and functional MOFs represents a promising strategy for design and synthesis of highly active catalysts towards various advanced applications.