Abstract
MOFs compounds with open metal sites, particularly Cu-BTC, have great potential for adsorption and catalysis applications. However, the powdery morphology limits their applications. One of the almost new ways to overcome this problem is to trap them in a standing and flexible aerogel matrix to form a hierarchical porous composite. In this work, Cu-BTC/CNC (crystalline nanocellulose) and Cu-BTC/NFC (nanofibrillated cellulose) aerogel composites were synthesized using a direct mixing method by the addition of Cu-BTC powder to the liquid precursor solution followed by gelation and freeze-drying. Also, pure nanocellulose aerogels (CNC and NFC aerogels) have been synthesized from cellulose isolated from peanut shells. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were utilized to evaluate the structure and morphology of the prepared materials. The adsorption ability of pure CNC aerogel and Cu-BTC/NFC aerogel composite for organic dye (Congo Red) and heavy metal ion (Mn7+) was studied and determined by the UV–Vis spectrophotometry and inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), respectively. It was concluded that Cu-BTC/NFC aerogel composite shows excellent adsorption capacity for Congo Red. The adsorption process of this composite is better described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm, with a maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 39 mg/g for Congo Red. Nevertheless, CNC aerogel shows no adsorption for Congo Red. Both CNC aerogel and Cu-BTC/NFC aerogel composite act as a monolith standing solid reducer, which means they could remove permanganate ions from water by reducing it into manganese dioxide without releasing any secondary product in the solution.
Highlights
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) compounds with open metal sites, Cu-benzene tricarboxylic acid (BTC), have great potential for adsorption and catalysis applications
We synthesized the two pure nanocellulose aerogels, i.e., physically cross-linked nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) aerogel and chemically cross-linked CNC aerogel from cellulose isolated from peanut shells using N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a linker
The nanocellulose aerogel acts as a standing mold for Cu-BTC powder, and Cu-BTC trapped in the nanocellulose aerogel maintains its performance
Summary
MOFs compounds with open metal sites, Cu-BTC, have great potential for adsorption and catalysis applications. We synthesized the two pure nanocellulose aerogels, i.e., physically cross-linked NFC aerogel and chemically cross-linked CNC aerogel from cellulose isolated from peanut shells using N,-N’-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a linker. In Cu-BTC/nanocellulose aerogel composites, in addition to CNC and NFC diffraction peaks, Cu-BTC diffraction peaks are present.
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