Zirconium based metal-organic framework for the adsorption of Cu (II) ions in real water samples

Abstract

Copper (II) is one of the most abundant heavy metal ions commonly found in water resources from industrial effluents discharge. Subsequently, it contaminates the food chain and becomes a source of toxicity to human beings and the entire ecological system. High intake of Cu (II) causes serious health effects and even death. The amino acid ligands possess high interaction towards metal ions. To efficiently remove Cu (II) ions from wastewater, we designed and prepared an eco-friendly Zirconium-based Metal-Organic Framework (Zr-MOF) using solitary amino acid (L-tyrosine) as ligand via a simple solvothermal method. The Zr-MOF is partially amorphous, strong solid with a thermal stability of 180 °C. The Zr-MOF has a surface area of 295 m2 g−1, wide pore size distribution ranges from 0.2 to 1.2 nm, with a pore volume of 0.6 cm3 g−1, which can easily trap the Cu (II) ions. Cu (II) ions adsorption analyses are carried out using a simple one-step method (UV Visible Spectroscopy) over other complicated experiments and equations. Zr-MOF exhibits adsorptive behavior on Cu (II) ions from water under any pH range from 1 to 13. The newly developed adsorption technique iss successfully employed to remove Cu (II) with an average adsorption capacity (qe) of Zr-MOF is 79.34 mg g−1 (maximum: 125 mg g−1) and a maximum Cu (II) ion removal efficiency (R) of Zr-MOF is found as 50% (average: 31.7%) in real water samples. This amino acid ligated MOF synthesis will open the doors towards biocompatible MOF development for the environmental remediation applications.

Keywords

• Zr-MOF
• Copper (II)
• pH
• Water samples
• Adsorption