LAUSR

A hetero-structured metal organic framework of Cu-BTC and Fe2O3 nano-photocatalyst were tethered over chitosan using the hydrothermal method and fabricated a hybrid porous nanocomposite (CS-Fe@Cu-BTC). X-ray diffractometer results exposed the existence of Fe2O3 peaks. Surface area measurements using BET showed a mesoporous structure and the formation of type IV adsorption isotherm for nanocomposite. XPS and SEM-EDAX confirmed the existence of Fe2O3 nanoparticles in the hybrid porous structure. The UV–vis diffuse reflectance absorption shape emphasized the role of Fe2O3 in enhancing the band gap of CS-Fe@Cu-BTC nanohybrid. The lower intensity photoluminescence spectra of the CS-Fe@Cu-BTC shows a competent charge partition and delayed the recombination of electron-hole pairs. The photo-mineralization efficiency of Cu-BTC and CS-Fe@Cu-BTC was evaluated in terms of electronic interactions using paraquat (PQT) as the probe molecule, which shows a mineralization of 91% at the pH range of ~ 5. The contribution of •OH in the degradation of PQT over CS-Fe@Cu-BTC nanocomposites revealed using the trapping test and the degradation mechanism follows the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model and pseudo-first-order kinetics. The durability of the CS-Fe@Cu-BTC nanocomposite was also established after four cycling processes.