LAUSR

Photocatalysts are highly applicable in treatment of the water pollution. However, most of the applied photocatalysts suffer from the inapplicability and non-recyclability which limited their application. Herein, applicable and recyclable effective photocatalyst composites of Ag2WO4@MIL-125-NH2@cotton and Ag3VO4@MIL-125-NH2@cotton successfully prepared by direct synthesis of MIL-125-NH2 and Ag2WO4 or Ag3VO4 within the cotton fabric as supported template, sequentially. Agglomerated rock structure of Ag2WO4@MIL-125-NH2 and smaller particles of Ag3VO4@MIL-125-NH2 formed onto the cotton. The prepared composites applied as photocatalysts in the degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) dyes in the visible light. The highest photodegradtion of dyes observed for Ag2WO4@MIL-125-NH2@cotton and Ag3VO4@MIL-125-NH2@cotton composites because of their low optical band gaps (2.36 eV and 1.87 eV) and their quenching in luminescent spectrum which helped in the ease transfer of photoexcited electrons. The rate constant (k2) for the photodegradation of MB (RhB) dye reduced significantly from 1.78 × 10–3 (2.8 × 10–3) L/mg min to 0.43 × 10–3 (1.04 × 10–3) L/mg min and 0.29 × 10–3 (0.79 × 10–3) L/mg min, when Ag2WO4 and Ag3VO4 incorporated in MIL-125-NH2@cotton composite, respectively. After 4 recycling process, the photodegradation activity of the applied composites diminished from 86–92% (68–80%) to 58–65% (47–54%). The obtained results declared the topmost photocatalytic activity in daylight of the recyclable prepared tri-component composites, reflecting their promising potentials in environmental applications.