Effective removal of arsenic from aqueous effluents via structural tailoring of iron-based MOF (MIL-88(Fe)) using ionic Schiff base

Abstract

Arsenic-contaminated water can cause cancer, liver damage, and skin sores. Thus, developing new multifunctional materials that can effectively remove minuscule quantities of arsenic is essential. To that end, we looked into the possibility of adsorbing arsenic ion (As(III)) from water over a novel ionic Schiff base-functionalized metal–organic framework (MOF) (MILSB) synthesized by reacting a salicylaldehyde-supported lutidinium ionic liquid with an amino-functionalized iron MOF (H2N-MIL-88(Fe)). The optimal parameters for As(III) uptake by MILSB were determined by batch tests, and were found to be an initial As(III) concentration of 80 ppm, a pH of 8, a contact period of 80 min, a dose of 1.0 g/L of MILSB, and a temperature of 298 K. MILSB was suggested as highly efficient (As(III) uptake 200.94 mg/g) and selective adsorbent for As(III) ions. As(III) sorption performance on MILSB was linearly regulated by Langmuir isotherm (R2 = 0.99781) and exhibited pseudo-second-order kinetics (R2 = 0.99785).