Study on the MOF Frame Pt-TiO2 Hybrid Photocatalyst and Its Photocatalytic Performance
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
There are many mistakes, and the manuscript looks like a experiment report not a scientific article. I advice the author to improve the manuscript carefully before next submission.
Author Response
Thank you very much for your comments. In this work our latest research and findings is analyzed and discussed. Pt-droped TiO2 with MIL-125 as the backbone was prepared by thermal synthesis using MIL-125 as the template. The photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized catalyst samples was tested using Rhodamine B as the contaminant model. The photocatalytic degradation experiments showed that the photocatalytic degradation of RhB by M-Pt-TiO2 was 98.97% after 30 min of degradation. The radical capture experiments showed that superoxide radicals and conduction band electrons as reactive oxygen species played a major role in the degradation process. After four cycles, the photocatalytic activity of M-Pt-TiO2 decreased from 98.4% to 94.9%, indicating that the photocatalyst sample had good photocatalytic stability. Based on the potential industrial value of this photocatalyst in the field of wastewater treatment, we believe that this article will be of great scientific value.
In addition, we have applied for retouching service from Elsevier for English language and style of the paper.
And please refer to the attachment for the revised manuscript
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The review report is herein attached.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
We do appreciate the reviewer’s comments. And we’ve tried our best to make the responses. We hope these responses can clarify all the mentioned issues and questions. The comments of reviewers are of great help to improve the strictness and readability of this paper.
Please refer to the attachment for the response.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This research refers to the synthesis of a Metal-organic framework (MOF) based on Pt-doped TiO2 with MIL-125 as backbone, which was prepared by thermal synthesis. The photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized catalyst was tested on Rhodamine B, as the contaminant model.
Overall the article is good and nicely written. However, I believe that the manuscript can be improved further. Thus I recommend revising the article based on the points mentioned below and on the comments from the attached manuscript file.
- The novelty of the study is not properly highlighted in the introduction section. Please incorporate why you have chosen Rhodamine B as pollutant?
- Section 2.3.1, why temperature of sintering of 530oC and 30 min duration were considered in this study? You didn’t cite any reference at experimental section. This protocol is entire yours?
- At experimental analysis concerning the recyclability of M-Pt-TiO2 photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B did you test more than 4 cycles? And if not, why did you stop to only 4? Did you find in literature other catalysts which were used more than 4 times? Obtained results need to be compared with other reports to compare the performance.
- Please number all the equations in the manuscript.
- Please put all the figures in the manuscript after you write about them in the text.
- At Conclusion section, there are two phrases identical as in Abstract, so please rephrase them.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
We do appreciate the reviewer’s comments. And we’ve tried our best to make the responses. We hope these responses can clarify all the mentioned issues and questions. The comments of reviewers are of great help to improve the strictness and readability of this paper.
Please refer to the attachment for the response.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
The manuscript “Study on the MOF frame Pt-TiO2 hybrid photocatalyst and its photocatalytic performance” by Mei et al. describes the preparation and characterization of hybrid photocatalyst Pt-TiO2-MIL125. The photocatalytic activity was investigated in the photodegradation of Rhodamine B. Results showed that 98.97% of the dye was degraded after 30 min, mainly by superoxide radicals, and the system remained stable after 4 cycles.
The work is well done (extensive characterization of materials, comparative photocatalytic experiments), results are well presented and the manuscript is clearly written. However, there are some faults in the text that need to be fixed.
1) The motivation of the work lacks arguments and is insufficiently articulated. Ti and Pt are catalytically active materials but they are expensive. Their use should be limited. It is not clear here: why the authors chose these precious metals to design their photocatalyst, with respect to more abundant materials? Is the new photocatalyst better than state-of-the art catalysts already known (with Pt? Ti? Other abundant materials?)? In short, it is difficult to see if the new photocatalyst is a real improvement or not.
=> I strongly recommend revising importantly the introduction of the work, to provide all relevant information to the reader on the state-of-the-art catalysts and how this one is an improvement in the field.
2) Line 60, “To obtain a better photocatalytic effect, we prepared Pt-MIL-125 by a one-step method,”: what is the mentioned catalyst that is compared here?
3) According to Figure 1, Pt nanoparticles were generated in situ from the Pt precursor complex. Please indicate clearly in the text the average size of the Pt nanoparticles obtained, as this is important for photocatalytic activity (not only the crystallographic orientations).
Author Response
We do appreciate the reviewer’s comments. And we’ve tried our best to make the responses. We hope these responses can clarify all the mentioned issues and questions. The comments of reviewers are of great help to improve the strictness and readability of this paper.
Please refer to the attachment for the response.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 5 Report
In the literature, there is an effervescent interest in synthesizing metal-organic frameworks with incorporated Ti, such as MIL-125 and NH2-MIL-125. It has been reported that the use of different materials as support has been used to improve their photocatalytic properties, among which Pt has already been used. The authors should deepen their state-of-the-art focus on photocatalysts based on the MIL-125 structure, highlighting the existing knowledge gap and how their work contributes to fill it. Therefore, present the state-of-the-art and focus on the latest studies on the synthesis of MIL-125 for photocatalytic applications.
Regarding the evaluation of the material, it would be desirable to add a comparative table of the main photocatalytic properties of the material, such as pore size, surface area, photoresponse, etc., and compare them with what is already reported in the literature.
With regard to the evaluation of photodegradation with the model pollutant, it would be desirable to report the characteristic parameter of quantum yield.
In addition, the following corrections to the text are suggested:
In the sentence on lines 13 and 14 to avoid mentioning on two occasions the term MIL-125 in the same sentence.
On line 61 the letter M is missing from the term IL-25.
Author Response
We do appreciate the reviewer’s comments. And we’ve tried our best to make the responses. We hope these responses can clarify all the mentioned issues and questions. The comments of reviewers are of great help to improve the strictness and readability of this paper.
Please refer to the attachment for the response.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Current version can be accepted for publication.
