Self-assembly of Fe-MOF on vermiculite nanosheets with enhanced catalytic activity

Utilizing natural, abundant, and eco-friendly materials to facilitate the industrial application of nano-sized MOF particles is of utmost importance, since these nanoparticles possess high activity but difficult to recovery. Herein, benefiting from the negatively charged vermiculite, dispersed nano-sized Fe-MOF particles were successfully in-situ grown on the surface of vermiculite nanosheets (VNs) via a simple solvothermal method. The construction of the composites improved the exposure of organic dye to active sites, resulting in a remarkable performance of Fe-MOF@VNs-4 towards photo-Fenton degradation of RhB, with a k value of 0.096 min−1 and an activity of 0.581 mmol g−1 h−1, significantly higher than that of pure VNs and Fe-MOF, surpassing most reported MOF composite catalysts. The excellent adsorption ability of Fe-MOF@VNs, along with the presence of divalent iron in vermiculite, greatly enhanced catalytic performance. Mechanistic investigations revealed that VNs facilitate the separation of photoinduced carriers excited from Fe-MOF, indicating a synergy effect between Fe-MOF and VNs. Overall, this work provides a simple and effective strategy to design large-scale and commercially available catalysts for water treatment, and also offers a promising alternative for the industrial application of nano-sized MOF particles.