ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Coastal Ocean Processes
In-Situ Ag Nanoparticle-Embedded Core-Shell Cu-MOFs: Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Efficient Degradation of Petroleum Oil Spills in High-Salinity Seawater
Li Li 1
Guiguang Wu 1
Heng Luo 2
Ju Wang 3
Haijun Wu 2
Qianqian Hao 4
Yunxiao Han 5
Meihong Ge 5
Changbai Zhong 6
Yenan Wang 7
1. Hainan Branch of CNOOC Petroleum Co., Ltd., Haikou, Hainan 570100, China, Haikou, China
2. CNOOC EnerTech-Safety and Environmental Protection Co., Haikou, Hainan Branch, 570100, China, Haikou, China
3. CNOOC Petroleum Terminal Co., Ltd., Chengmai, Hainan, 571900, China, Chengmai, China
4. Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Haikou, China
5. Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou, China
6. Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Agricultural Environment and Soil, Haikou, China
7. Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China
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Abstract
Oil spill incidents occur widely around the globe, posing significant threats to the multifunctionality of coastal ecosystems, economic development, and human health. However, conventional oil contamination remediation approaches are plagued by inherent limitations, including low treatment efficiency, secondary pollution risks, and poor universality. To address this issue, a copper-based metal-organic framework (Cu-MOF) was synthesized via a solvothermal route in this study. Utilizing this Cu-MOF as a hard template, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were immobilized within its cage-like porous channels through an in-situ reduction strategy, yielding a Ag@Cu-MOF composite photocatalytic material. The degradation performance of this composite toward oil pollutants derived from marine oil spills was systematically evaluated under UV-visible hybrid light irradiation. The experimental results demonstrated that when the loading content of Ag NPs was optimized to 5%, the composite achieved a degradation efficiency of 95.1% toward simulated oil spill pollutants (with crude oil employed as the model contaminant) at an initial concentration of 100 mg·L-1 within 2 hours. This degradation efficiency was significantly superior to that of pristine Cu-MOF (51.3%) and bare Ag NPs (25.9%). Mechanistic investigations revealed that the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) effect of Ag NPs enables the extension of the material's light response range to the visible spectral region. Concurrently, the Schottky junction formed at the interface between Cu-MOF and Ag facilitates the efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, which remarkably enhances the photocatalytic activity of the composite. Furthermore, the Ag@Cu-MOF composite exhibited excellent structural and functional stability in a simulated seawater system with a salinity of 3.5% (mimicking real marine conditions). After four consecutive reuse cycles, the degradation efficiency remained above 88%, which not only validates the material's reusability but also provides a novel material platform and technical paradigm for the efficient remediation of marine oil spills, holding great significance for advancing coastal ecological restoration practices.
Summary
Keywords
Ag NPs, Cu-MOF, marine oil spills, oilpollutant degradation, photocatalysis
Received
14 January 2026
Accepted
11 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Li, Wu, Luo, Wang, Wu, Hao, Han, Ge, Zhong and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Meihong Ge; Changbai Zhong; Yenan Wang
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