Metal-Organic Framework-74 for Ultratrace Arsenic Removal from Water: Experimental and Density Functional Theory Studies

Belal J. Abu Tarboush, Ali Chouman, Antranik Jonderian, Mohammad Ahmad, Mohamad Hmadeh*, Mazen Al-Ghoul

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

50 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigates and compares arsenic, As(V), removal from aqueous media using the water-stable zinc metal-organic frameworks (Zn-MOF-74) prepared via room-temperature precipitation (RT-Zn-MOF-74) and a solvothermal procedure (HT-Zn-MOF-74). The Zn-MOF-74 crystals possess average particle sizes of 66 nm and 144 μm for RT-Zn-MOF-74 and HT-Zn-MOF-74, respectively. Moreover, nanosized RT-Zn-MOF-74 exhibited a superior performance to HT-Zn-MOF-74. While the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of RT-Zn-MOF-74 was smaller than that of HT-Zn-MOF-74, higher adsorption uptake took place on the room-temperature-synthesized ones because of their small particle size and better dispersion. Adsorption isotherm studies showed that the Langmuir isotherm was effective for the adsorption of As(V) onto RT-Zn-MOF-74 and HT-Zn-MOF-74 with maximum adsorption uptake (qmax) values of 99.0 and 48.7 mg g-1, respectively. These values exceed most reported maximum adsorption capacities at neutral pH. The thermodynamics of adsorption revealed a spontaneous endothermic process that is due to the substitution of adsorbed water molecules by arsenate in the pores of the MOF crystal. This was further investigated using plane-wave density functional theory calculations. This study constitutes direct evidence for the importance of tuning the size of the MOF crystals to enhance their properties.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3283-3292
Number of pages10
JournalACS Applied Nano Materials
Volume1
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 27 2018

Keywords

  • adsorption
  • arsenic removal
  • metal-organic frameworks
  • nanomaterial
  • water treatment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

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