Facile Synthesis of MOF for Enhanced Photo- fenton Degradation of Pesticide from Model Wastewater

Abstract

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have proved to be a porous material of high surface area, adjustable chemical properties, whereas spinel ferrite nanoparticles have distinct magnetic and electronic properties and their composites are of great interest to the environment. In this research, a useful and efficient photocatalytic compound, MOF-5 and Zn0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4, was effectively prepared by attaching the Zn0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles onto the MOF-5 structure. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the existence of typical diffraction peaks of the two MOF-5 and Zn0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4, which show that the composite was formed without phase segregating and the crystalline structure of MOF-5 remained intact. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) showed several peaks of the metal-oxygen and metal-metal-oxygen stretching vibrations of Zn0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 and the vibrations of the MOF-5 organic linkers indicating that the nanoparticles were highly interacting with the MOF framework. The distribution of Zn0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles in porous MOF-5 was shown based on the Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) images, which indicated a uniform distribution in the interconnected microstructure of the material, resulting in high surface area and easy accessibility of the active site. The composite was studied by UV- Visible spectroscopy, revealing specific absorption peaks within the range of 200-800 nm, with minor variations to pure MOF-5, and bandgap was calculated to be 1.87 eV, which has better light-harvesting properties and the possibility of visible-light driven photocatalysis. Under optimal conditions identified with the analysis of the Design Expert, the degradation of imidacloprid in model wastewater was performed under following conditions: reaction pH 4, a constant dosage of 10 mg catalyst, 112.5 μL hydrogen peroxide, and 40 ppm imidacloprid in 10 min reaction time, and the maximum degradation efficiency reached 97.95%, this highlights composite’s efficiency and applicability in environmental remediation.