Study of New Hybrid Material of ZnO/CuO and Metal-Organic Framework as Photocatalyst for Removal of Tetracycline from Water

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) made of metal ions or clusters coordinated to organic ligands are classified as crystalline nano porous materials shaped in one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures. These materials have shown many applications in various aspects of technology. In this regard, applying of MOFs as promoters for semiconductor photocatalysts is one of promising applications. Thus, new photocatalyst hybrid material (CuO/ZnO/TMU-5) was synthesized from zinc-based metal-organic framework (TMU-5) and metal oxide composite (CuO/ZnO; containing ZnO and CuO oxides). Obtained materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses. The efficiency of the resulting materials was evaluated in photocatalytic processes for the removal of tetracycline contaminant from water. The results showed that CuO/ZnO/TMU-5 species showed higher photocatalytic activity comparing to pristine CuO/ZnO. UV-vis spectroscopy analysis revealed that coupling of TMU-5 to CuO/ZnO changes its band gap toward lower energy resulting in increase of the photocatalytic removal of organic pollutant under visible light.