Synthesis of nanoscale titania embedded in MIL-101 for the adsorption and degradation of volatile pollutants with thermal desorption gas chromatography and mass spectrometry detection

Nanoscale anatase titania was embedded within the porous chromium terephthalate MIL-101 under low-temperature hydrothermal treatment. The metal-organic framework shell acting as host matrix can effectively prevent the titania nanoparticles from aggregating and enable a good dispersion of these nanoparticles. The X-ray diffraction spectra, transmission electron micrography and X-ray photoelectron spectra clearly showed successful impregnation of the nano-sized anatase titania within the body of MIL-101. The resulting TiO2/MIL-101 nanocomposite was considered as bifunctional material with abundant adsorptive domains and catalytic domains, and was packed in a quartz tube as a convenient trapping and photocatalytic reactor for hazardous volatile pollutants. The composite showed great potential for adsorptive and photocatalytic degradation of these volatile pollutants, such as formaldehyde and o-xylene, which were online monitored by thermal desorption gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection.