Can metal organic frameworks outperform adsorptive removal of harmful phenolic compound 2-chlorophenol by activated carbon?

Removal of persistent organic compounds from aqueous solutions is generally achieved using adsorbent like activated carbon (AC) but it suffers from limited adsorption capacity due to low surface area. This paper describes a pioneering work on the adsorption of an organic pollutant, 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) by two MOFs with high surface area and water stability; MIL-101 and its amino-derivative, MIL-101-NH2. Although MOFs have higher surface area than AC, the latter was proven better having the highest equilibrium 2-CP uptake (345 mg g−1), followed by MIL-101 (121 mg g−1) and MIL-101-NH2 (84 mg g−1). Used MIL-101 could be easily regenerated multiple times by washing with ethanol and even showed improved adsorption capacity after each washing cycle. These results can open the doors to meticulous adsorbent selection for treating 2-CP-contaminated water

Polymer-assisted modification of metal-organic framework MIL-96 (Al): influence of HPAM concentration on particle size, crystal morphology and removal of harmful environmental pollutant PFOA

A new synthesis method was developed to prepare an aluminum-based metal organic framework (MIL-96) with a larger particle size and different crystal habits. A low cost and water-soluble polymer, hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), was added in varying quantities into the synthesis reaction to achieve >200% particle size enlargement with controlled crystal morphology. The modified adsorbent, MIL-96-RHPAM2, was systematically characterized by SEM, XRD, FTIR, BET and TGA-MS. Using activated carbon (AC) as a reference adsorbent, the effectiveness of MIL-96-RHPAM2 for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) removal from water was examined. The study confirms stable morphology of hydrated MIL-96-RHPAM2 particles as well as a superior PFOA adsorption capacity (340 mg/g) despite its lower surface area, relative to standard MIL-96. MIL-96-RHPAM2 suffers from slow adsorption kinetics as the modification significantly blocks pore access. The strong adsorption of PFOA by MIL-96-RHPAM2 was associated with the formation of electrostatic bonds between the anionic carboxylate of PFOA and the amine functionality present in the HPAM backbone. Thus, the strongly held PFOA molecules in the pores of MIL-96-RHPAM2 were not easily desorbed even after eluted with a high ionic strength solvent (500 mM NaCl). Nevertheless, this simple HPAM addition strategy can still chart promising pathways to impart judicious control over adsorbent particle size and crystal shapes while the introduction of amine functionality onto the surface chemistry is simultaneously useful for enhanced PFOA removal from contaminated aqueous systems