Heterojunction of UiO-66 and porous g-C3N4 for boosted photocatalytic removal of organic dye

[Display omitted] •A series of novel nanohybrids of g-C3N4/UiO-66 heterojunctions was synthesized.•The nanohybrids shows excellent activity in photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes.•Degradation rate of the nanohybrids is much faster than g-C3N4 and UiO-66 alone.•The possible photocatalytic mechanism of RhB was proposed and confirmed.•DFT calculations were carried out to confirm the heterojunction structure and photocatalysis mechanism. In this research, a novel composite of typical Zr-based metal–organic frameworks (UiO-66) with porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was prepared by an in-situ preparation method. The g-C3N4/UiO-66 nanohybrids (CNU-0.5chieved almost 100 % efficiency in the degradation of RhB (60 mg/L, 100 mL) within 70 min under visible light, which was 6.46 and 10.56 times faster than that of pure g-C3N4 and UiO-66, respectively. The improved photocatalytic properties were attributed to the large surface area, enhanced optical adsorption ability and the creation of heterojunction between g-C3N4 and UiO-66. The formation of the heterojunction structure enhanced the photoelectron transfer efficiency and reduced the recombination of electron/hole pairs. Furthermore, the trapping experiments showed that •O2–, h+ and •OH were the active species in the photodegradation process, with •O2– playing a dominant role. This study offers valuable insights into the preparation of MOF-based photocatalysts with exceptional effectiveness for the removal of contaminants in wastewater treatment.