A magnesium-based
metal–organic framework (Mg-MOF-74) exhibits
excellent CO
2
adsorption under ambient conditions. However,
the photostability of Mg-MOF-74 for CO
2
adsorption is poor.
In this study, Mg
x
Cu
1–
x
-MOF-74 was synthesized by using a facile “one-pot”
method. Furthermore, the effects of synthesis conditions on the CO
2
adsorption capacity were investigated comprehensively. X-ray
diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy,
thermo gravimetric analysis, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission
spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence
spectroscopy, and CO
2
static adsorption–desorption
techniques were used to characterize the structures, morphology, and
physicochemical properties of Mg
x
Cu
1–
x
-MOF-74. CO
2
uptake of
Mg
x
Cu
1–
x
-MOF-74 under visible light illumination was measured by the CO
2
static adsorption test combined with the Xe lamp. The results
revealed that Mg
x
Cu
1–
x
-MOF-74 exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity.
Furthermore, the CO
2
adsorption capacity of Mg
x
Cu
1–
x
-MOF-74 was
excellent at a synthesis temperature and time of 398 K and 24 h in
dimethylformamide (DMF)-EtOH-MeOH mixing solvents, respectively. Mg
x
Cu
1–
x
-MOF-74
retained a crystal structure similar to that of the corresponding
monometallic MOF-74, and its CO
2
uptake under visible light
was superior to that of the corresponding monometallic MOF-74. Particularly,
the CO
2
uptake of Mg
0.4
Cu
0.6
-MOF-74
under Xe lamp illumination for 24 h was the highest, up to 3.52 mmol·g
–1
, which was 1.18 and 2.09 times higher than that of
Mg- and Cu-MOF-74, respectively. The yield of the photocatalytic reduction
of CO
2
to CO was 49.44 μmol·g
cat
–1
over Mg
0.4
Cu
0.6
-MOF-74 under
visible light for 8 h. Mg
2+
and Cu
2+
functioned
as open alkali metal that could adsorb and activate CO
2
. The synergistic effect between Mg and Cu metal strengthened Mg
x
Cu
1–
x
-MOF-74
photostability for CO
2
adsorption and broadened the scope
of its photocatalytic application. The “bimetallic”
strategy exhibits considerable potential for use in MOF-based semic...