Modified UiO‐66 for the Degradation of Tetracycline Antibiotic Under Solar Irradiations

UiO‐66 metal–organic framework (MOF) is known for its large surface area, porous structure, and low visible light absorption due to its large band gap energy. In this study, iron‐doped, nickel‐doped, titanium‐doped, (OH) 2 ‐functionalized, and NH 2 ‐functionalized UiO‐66 MOF photocatalysts were synthesized for the degradation of tetracycline (TC) antibiotic under real solar irradiation. The doping of UiO‐66 is anticipated to enhance its visible light absorption and consequently improve its photocatalytic degradation efficiency. The XRD characterization confirmed the crystalline structure of the prepared MOFs with no significant change in the identity peaks of UiO‐66. However, scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterization showed a substantial change in the doped‐MOFs’ morphology compared to the unmodified UiO‐66. The experimental results showed that the metal‐doped UiO‐66 samples had the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency under both real solar irradiation and white LED light, along with enhanced adsorption capacity. The reactions were performed with an initial TC concentration of 20 ppm and a catalyst dosage of 100 mg/L, and the most efficient MOF was Ni‐UiO‐66. The enhanced performance of the Fe‐doped, Ni‐doped, and Ti‐doped UiO‐66 is attributed to the excellent visible light absorption, suppressed charge carriers recombination effect, and enhanced adsorption capacity. TC was completely degraded within 180 minutes by Ni‐UiO‐66 and Ti‐UiO‐66 compared to only 40% efficiency by UiO‐66.