An innovative, highly stable Ag/ZIF-67@GO nanocomposite with exceptional peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation efficacy, for the destruction of chemical and microbiological contaminants under visible light.

In this work, Ag nanoparticles were loaded on ZIF-67 covered by graphene oxide (Ag/ZIF-67@GO), and its catalytic performance was studied for the heterogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) under visible-light. The catalyst surface morphology and structure were analyzed by FT-IR, XRD, XPS, DRS, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, BET, ICP-AES and TGA analysis. The efficacy of PMS activation by the Ag/ZIF-67@GO under visible light was assessed by phenol degradation and E. coli inactivation. Phenol was completely degraded within 30 min by HO, SO and O generated through the photocatalytic PMS activation. In addition, total E. coli inactivation was attained in 15 min that confirmed the highly efficient catalytic activation of PMS by the as-made nanocomposite under visible light. The reaction mechanism was elucidated and the importance of the generated reactive species followed the order of: HO > SO > O > h, implying a radical-pathway dominated process.