Adsorptive removal of naphthalene and anthracene from aqueous solution with zinc and copper-terephthalate metal-organic frameworks

This research employed the application of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) of zinc and copper-based materials in the removal of naphthalene and anthracene. Naphthalene and anthracene adsorption were investigated with both zinc-benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic (Zn-BDC) and copper-benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic (Cu-BDC) MOFs. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin adsorption isotherms were used to investigate the mechanisms of the data obtained. Zn-BDC and Cu-BDC MOFs were stable at a wide range of temperatures and they both exhibited appreciable desorption and regenerating ability. About 97% and 50% removal were recorded for naphthalene and anthracene, respectively. The great success recorded for naphthalene has been attributed to the tighter fitting between the pores of the MOFs materials and naphthalene, as naphthalene molecules are less sterically hindered as compared to anthracene. Desorption and reusability result showed that both MOFs materials demonstrate high regeneration capacity, and the reuse of the materials proved effective for three batch adsorption process.