Boosting visible light photoreactivity of photoactive metal-organic framework: Designed plasmonic Z-scheme Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe

[Display omitted] •Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe is rationally designed and successfully prepared by a facile one-pot solvothermal route.•Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe is a first MOF-based plasmonic Z-scheme photocatalyst.•Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe possesses excellent activity and stability for dye photooxidation and Cr(VI) photoreduction.•Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe exhibits superior photocatalytic activity to that of bare MIL-53-Fe. In this work, we report the efficient integration of plasmonic Ag/AgCl with a typical photoactive metal-organic framework (MOF, MIL-53-Fe) to boost the visible light photoreactivity of MOFs. The Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe photocatalysts are rationally designed and successfully prepared by a facile one-pot solvothermal route, where the Ag/AgCl nanoparticles are firmly anchored on the surface of MIL-53-Fe microrods. The formed structure is in favor of the synergetic transfer of photoinduced electrons and holes in the Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe by a Z-scheme mechanism, ensuring the long lifetime of charge carriers and yielding the enhanced photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic experiments reveal that Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe is highly efficient for organic pollutant degradation and Cr(VI) reduction under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic reactivity of Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe is about 21.4 times and 10.8 times higher than that of bare MIL-53-Fe for the degradation of RhB and reduction of aqueous Cr(VI), respectively. Our finding on photoredox of Ag/AgCl@MIL-53-Fe would bring new insight into the design and development of highly efficient MOF-based photocatalysts.