UiO-66-supported Fe catalyst: a vapour deposition preparation method and its superior catalytic performance for removal of organic pollutants in water.

A vapour deposition (VD) method was established for preparation of the UiO-66-supported Fe (Fe/UiO-66) catalyst, which provided the first case of the metal-organic framework (MOF)-supported Fe catalyst prepared by using the vapour-based method. The Fe loading was around 7.0-8.5 wt% under the present preparation conditions. The crystal structure of UiO-66 was not obviously influenced by the Fe loading, while the surface area significantly decreased, implicating most of the Fe components resided in the pores on UiO-66. The results for the methyl orange (MO) removal tests showed that MO in aqueous solution can be removed by UiO-66 by adsorption, and in contrast, it can be oxidized by HO with the catalysis of Fe/UiO-66. Further catalytic tests showed that Fe/UiO-66 was rather effective to catalyse the oxidation of benzene derivatives like aniline in water in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency. The catalytic test results for Fe/UiO-66 were compared to those of Fe/AlO with the same Fe loading and to the catalysts reported in the literature. This paper provides a general strategy for VD preparation of MOF-supported Fe catalyst on the one hand, and new catalysts for removing organic pollutants from water, on the other hand.