Synthesis and Characterization of MOF for the Removal of Agrochemicals

Abstract

MOFs have been less explored for the removal of agrochemicals because of their poor stability in aqueous media. In this work, a novel water stable MOF composite (Ag@Cu BTC-IPA) has been designed which has been further utilized for the removal of a pesticide. A copper MOF named as Cu-BTC has been synthesized. This MOF is unstable in water so, the stability of the MOF has been gained by the introduction of isopropanol which induces hydrophobic effect to the structure of MOF due the presence of alkyl groups. This stable MOF has been further modified with silver nitrate to form a novel composite of Ag with water stable MOF. Three combinations synthesized were Cu-BTC MOF, Cu-BTC IPA and Ag@Cu-BTC-IPA. All of these were characterized by FTIR analysis which confirms the presence of functional groups and the formation of our material was ensured. Furthermore, XRD was carried out and the crystal structure of the as-synthesized MOF composites was compared with literature. Both adsorption as well as desorption of the composite has been analyzed. A comparative study has been made between the three combinations that are Cu-BTC MOF, Cu-BTC-IPA and Ag@Cu-BTC-IPA to check the most efficient adsorbent. The final synthesized MOF ‘Ag@Cu-BTC-IPA composite at pH=7 showed the best adsorption among all three combinations for the removal of the pesticide as compared to that of simple MOF. The loaded MOF (Ag@Cu-BTC-IPA) was analyzed to observe the release study. After 60 minutes, 59% of the loaded pesticide was released.