AgPO@UMOFNs Core-Shell Structure: Two-Dimensional MOFs Promoted Photoinduced Charge Separation and Photocatalysis.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a new type of functional material that is self-assembled by metal ions and organic ligands. In this paper, a bimetal-organic framework was synthesized and stripped into two-dimensional nanosheets structure via an ultrasonic method. We coated the UMOFNs (ultrathinning MOFs into two-dimensional nanosheets) on AgPO nanoparticles to obtain AgPO@UMOFNs core-shell photocatalysts. Under visible-light irradiation, the degradation of phenol was 100% within 16 min, and the degradation of biphenyl A was 98.9% within 20 min via AgPO@UMOFNs (5 wt %). These values were 1.6- and 1.8-times higher than AgPO, respectively. The activity of the AgPO@UMOFNs increased due to the synergistic effects. The π-π bonds of the organic ligands and weak interactions between UMOFNs and AgPO collectively promote charge transfer. In addition, matching energy-level structures and a sufficiently large contact area accelerate the separation of the photogenerated charges and improve the activity. This remarkably improves the photocatalytic activity.