Modified metal–organic frameworks for sonophotocatalytic elimination of wastewater pollutants

Abstract

In recent decades, people have witnessed a rapid development of society, accompanied by the increase sharply of numerous organic/inorganic contaminants from industrial effluents. The high toxicity of pollutants has led to long‐term risk to human health. To connect with environment‐friendly green chemistry and sustainable development, photocatalysis technology has emerged. Metal–organic framework (MOF)‐based photocatalysts performed high efficiency for the elimination of wastewater pollutants. Nevertheless, the large band gap energy and high recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pair decrease the catalytic efficiency. Sonochemistry is regarded as a safe, highly efficient, clean, and eco‐friendly technology, which has aroused a lot of interest in the treatment of wastewater. The cavitation effect induced by ultrasonic waves promotes the generation of additional active radicals. The ultrasonic oscillation facilitates cleaning the surface of catalysts, dispersing catalyst particles, and increasing proton transport. Therefore, photocatalysis coupling with ultrasonic waves, known as sonophotocatalysis (SPC), is a promising means for enhancing the overall performance of wastewater treatments. This review discusses the recent advancements of hybrid MOF‐based photocatalysts driving the wastewater treatments in SPC system. The catalytic performance of hybrid MOF is discussed in the SPC process. The inner properties of phases in hybrid MOF such as the location of redox potential and transfer direction of electrons and energy after hybridization are elucidated. Additionally, the review discusses the existing challenges and obstacles of MOF‐based SPC system and proposes feasible improvements to meet the future requirements of practical applications.