Photocatalytic remediation of organic pollutants in contaminated water using trimetallic zeolitic imidazole framework: From methylene blue to wastewater

Photocatalysts have recently attracted significant attention for their ability to efficiently degrade organic contaminants in wastewater under sunlight irradiation conditions. In this study, trimetallic Zn–ZIF photocatalyst is synthesized by incorporating Ni– and Cd–dopant atoms to enhance photocatalytic performance. Morphological and crystallographic analyses confirm the formation of the ZIF−L structure. Compared to monometallic and bimetallic variants, the trimetallic ZIF exhibits enhanced optical absorbance. PL analysis indicates that additional impurities introduce more active sites, resulting in improved photocatalytic performance. Trimetallic N2C4 ZIF photocatalyst shows the highest organic degradability with 95.1 % MB degradation, with stable second-order kinetics derived primarily from superoxide radicals. The catalyst also effectively degrades melanoidin chromophore in coffee and wastewater. This work demonstrates a promising approach to developing broadly applicable ZIF photocatalysts to photodegrade various polluted environmental systems.