Construction of Ag‐ <scp> NH ₂ </scp> ‐ <scp>UiO</scp> ‐66 composites with boosted photocatalytic activity for the removal of contaminants

Abstract The environmental pollution resulting from organic dye wastewater presents a significant threat to human health. Photocatalysis has emerged as a highly promising approach for mitigating wastewater contamination. In this study, a novel synthetic strategy was developed using NH 2 ‐UiO‐66 as a template. By precisely controlling the amount of Ag + ions introduced into the NH 2 ‐UiO‐66 precursor and employing a straightforward reduction approach, the Ag‐NH 2 ‐UiO‐66 composite photocatalyst was successfully synthesized. Comprehensive characterization via X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X‐ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) confirmed that the incorporated Ag+ ions were effectively reduced to metallic silver and uniformly dispersed within the porous framework. Photocatalytic degradation experiments employing Rhodamine B (RhB) as a model pollutant under ultraviolet irradiation demonstrated that the catalyst with a silver loading of 0.05 mol/L achieved a maximum degradation efficiency of 91% within 150 min, markedly surpassing the 39% efficiency exhibited by pristine NH 2 ‐UiO‐66. Furthermore, cyclic stability tests verified the catalyst's excellent reusability and structural durability. Mechanistic investigations revealed that superoxide radicals (O 2 − ) served as the predominant reactive species responsible for RhB degradation in the Ag‐NH 2 ‐UiO‐66 system. This work presents a simple and effective strategy for fabricating highly efficient and stable MOF‐based photocatalysts for the remediation of dye‐contaminated wastewater.